The Heart's Makeover
by Wendbria
Summary: It is the senior year of high school and Naruto still does not realize that his best friend Hinata wants to be more then friends. So with the help of her friends she gives herself a new makeover, will it be enough to catch Naruto's heart?
1. One More Week

**I am once again truly crazy to start yet another story, but i couldn't help it. Hope you enjoy it.**

**NOTICE:This story takes place in a regular high school so there won't be any ninja skills or anything like that. Also this Konoha High is like a public school in America (since that's where i am from and what i know) so they won't be wearing uniforms in school.**

The town's most popular teenage hangout, Ichiraku's, was packed. There was only one more week before school started and for the large group in the back, it was going to be their last.

They were all talking about what they had done that past summer. Some had gone on vacation while others just stayed at home.

There was then a clink of glass that silenced the entire table. They all looked over to the end of the table. A girl with blonde hair, blue eyes, and wearing a jean skirt with a purple polka dot camisole was standing on a chair.

"Now that I have everyone's attention, let me say that this marks the end of summer and soon our senior year of high school will start and in just 3 months the big Homecoming dance will be here. So you all better vote for my girl Sakura or else." Ino gave everyone a glare.

Then someone coughed. "Dork."

Ino slowly turned her head to see who made the comment. "What did you say Dog Breath?"

The boy with shaggy brown hair, red triangle tattoos, and wearing black jeans, a white tshirt, and a leather jacket gave the blonde a dashing smirk. "I said dork. School hasn't even started yet and you are already talking about that dumb dance."

Ino's eyes were now on fire. She marched over and started shaking him. "You dumb ass! This is our senior year and it's our last dance besides prom!" Ino continued to shout, but soon everyone went back to talking.

"Hey Hinata, isn't Kiba just plain stupid. Even I am smart enough not to call Ino a dork." A boy with spiky blonde hair, deep blue eyes, and was wearing jeans, black tshirt, and a orange and black sweat jacket laughed.

"I don't think it's very funny Naruto. Poor Kiba is going to a concussion from all that shaking." Hinata said a little worried.

"Nah, he's tough. The school's star football player (I'm from America so when I say football I mean America football) can handle a little shaking from Ino."

"I guess you are right."

"Of course I am. So I'm pretty much done eating. Want me to walk you home?" Naruto stood up to leave.

"Thank you Naruto." Hinata got up to follow.

"No problem." Naruto waved good bye to their friends and headed out with Hinata following close behind.

On the way home Naruto, walking with his hands behind his head, talked about how he had spent the summer traveling with his godfather, gathering research for his next novel.

Hinata let out a giggle. Naruto has been her best friend since they were little kids so she really knew what Naruto meant when he said "research".

"So Hinata I know we hung out when I was in town but what did you do while I was away? "

"Oh, well I stayed home most of the summer."

"Really, the whole summer?"

"Why yes. My father and sister were on vacation most of the time, so I was pretty much alone."

"Oh sorry Hinata. I sometimes forget how much of a jerk you dad was."

"It's okay Naruto. It gave me plenty of time to work on my artwork."

"Still….I wish I could have been there for you and now I feel really bad."

"Why's that?" Hinata asked.

"Because, Coach Gai is dead set on us winning the state championship this year so we have to start soccer practice this week, so that means I won't be able to see you all week. I'm sorry Hinata."

"It's alright Naruto. If you want to become team captain this year then I guess you will have to practice a lot. We have a couple of classes together so we can hang out when school starts." Hinata gave him a reassuring smile.

Naruto smiled back. "Well it looks like we are here. Goodnight Hinata." Naruto caught her up in a huge embrace.

Hinata blushed at the contact but luckily the darkness hid it. "Goodnight Naruto. Good luck with soccer practice and I will see you at school next week."

Naruto let go and walked off with a final wave goodbye.


	2. Best Friends

Hinata watched Naruto leave until she could no longer see him then with a deep sigh she unlocked the door and went inside to her house.

To call it a house was a under statement. It was more of a mansion. The Hyuga family was one of the most powerful family's in the town of Konoha and Hinata just so happen to be one. She was actually the heiress to the family business that is if her father sees her fit to take over. And at this moment in time, it did not look like he will. He saw his eldest daughter as weak and to kind to take over the business and he was thinking of giving it over to Hinata's younger sister, Hanabi. To be honest, Hinata wasn't to sure she wanted to take over. Ever since her mother past away, Hinata has found just peace and enjoyment in her artwork that she was thinking of making it her future. But only Naruto knew about it, if she told her father, he would probably call her a disgrace and kick her out.

Hinata walked through the mansion and quickly let her father know she was home then she went up to her room. She went to her bathroom and turned on the shower. Hinata took a good look in the mirror and what she saw was upsetting.

The reflection showed a petite girl with almost sickly pale skin and scraggily indigo colored hair that at the moment was up in a messy bun with strands falling out. Her thick-rimmed glasses covered up her odd looking pupil-less lavender colored eyes. Today she was wearing boyish sneakers, ill fitted jeans with paint stains on them, and her signature lavender oversize jacket. In other words….she was a complete nerd.

And she wasn't over exaggerating, everyone at school knew her as the nerdy artsy girl. She didn't blame them, She did love her art class and she always got good grades in her classes without having to study much. And as long as Hinata was being honest with herself she might as well admit that she didn't really have many close friends, besides Naruto and a few others. Most of the people at Ichiraku's were more of Naruto's friends then hers.

Naruto was always to the one to invite her out to hang, no one else usually did. He was truly a good friend. She couldn't believe that it has been almost thirteen years since they met.

_Flashback…..about thirteen years ago_

_School had just finished and everyone was getting picked up by their parents, Hinata was waiting outside the building for her mother. Like always her mother was late, usually because she was caught up in some meeting. _

_Little Hinata let out a sigh. She wasn't mad at her mom. She knew that she loved her very much. She was just busy. _

_Hinata looked up when she heard someone else let out a sigh. Sitting on a swing on a tree across the lot was a little boy. Hinata slowly walked over and saw that the boy was about the same age as her. He had spiky blonde hair and looked very sad. _

"_Ex….excuse me." The boy looked up at Hinata. She saw that he had been crying. "Ar…are yyyyyou o…kkkay?"_

_The boy wiped away his tears and gave her a smile, but she knew that is was fake. "Yeah I'm fine."_

"_Alright." Hinata was about to walk away but was stopped._

"_Hey what's your name?" The boy asked._

"_Hinata Hyuga."_

"_Hi Hinata, I'm Naruto Uzumaki. Would you like to be my friend?"_

_Hinata smiled. She didn't have any friends in class. "Sure."_

"_Great, why don't we play a game?"_

"_Okay, what game?"_

"_Well….." Naruto had a suspicious grin on his face. "TAG YOU'RE IT!" Naruto then ran off. _

"_Not far." Hinata laughed and chased after her new friend._

_A little while later a black limousine showed up in the school's parking lot. Hinata stopped running. Naruto noticed and walked over to her. "Hey is everything okay?"_

"_Yeah, I just have to go now, my mom is here."_

"_Oh alright. Well I guess I will see you tomorrow." Naruto gave her a smile._

"_Okay!" Hinata walked over to where she saw her mom standing. "Hey mom."_

"_Hello my little angel. I'm sorry I am so late."_

"_It's okay, I actually made a friend. We played tag while I waited." Hinata said with a huge smile._

"_Was that who I saw you talking to?"_

"_Yes, his name is Naruto."_

"_Well, would Naruto like to go home and eat dinner with us, your father will be at work late with a meeting?"_

_Hinata gave her a huge smile. "Really?" Her mom nodded. "I'll go ask him." Hinata ran towards where Naruto was walking away. "NARUTO!" _

_Naruto turned around hearing his name. "What's the matter Hinata? Is something wrong?"_

"_No, I wwwwwas just wwwwondering if you wwwwould like to eat dddddiiiiner with my mother and I?"_

_Naruto gave her a huge grin. "Sure that sounds awesome."_

_End of Flashback_

Since then Hinata and Naruto have been best of friends. Later on Hinata learned that the reason Naruto was crying was because no one wanted to be his friend. She had made him feel better and he helped her finally get rid of her stuttering. They were as close as friends could get.

What Naruto didn't know was that Hinata wanted to be more then friends for a very long time. She has had a crush on Naruto since middle school, but he didn't even know. And here it was the final year of high school and they lives would soon change forever and he didn't know how she felt.

But this year was going to be different. This year things were going to change. This year Naruto was going to finally notice her.


	3. In Need of Some Help

The next Hinata woke up early, like usual. She went down to the kitchen to grab a quick breakfast. When she was finished with breakfast, she headed back to her room to work on her painting.

Hinata's room was large enough for her to create her own little art studio in a corner of her room. It's there that she kept her easel, canvases, and paints. All her finished pieces sat in a pile in another corner. Hinata turned on the radio and sat down on her easel and began painting.

A few hours past before Hinata realized what time it was. Painting always put her in a peaceful trance. But she had other things to do, so she cleaned her brushes and grabbed her cell phone.

Hinata found the numbers she was searching for and sent a text message.

**To: Kiba, Shino**

**Hey, do you think you can come over. I need your help with something important.**

**From: Hinata**

A minute later Hinata received a response.

**To: Hinata**

**Sure, Akamaru and I will be over in a few minutes.**

**From: Kiba**

**To: Hinata**

**Yes, be over shortly,**

**From: Shino**

Hinata couldn't wait for her friends to come over. Besides Naruto, they were her closets friends. She had known them since she was in elementary school but she didn't become friends with them until freshman year of high school. The Konoha High's principle assigns the first year students into groups of three with a teacher to guide them, so they can better understand the school and have an easier time making friends. Hinata was assigned with Kiba Inuzuka and Shino Aburame. Then the three of them were assigned to the school's art teacher, Mrs. Kurenai. They spent all freshmen year together, so they became close friends. Hinata wasn't sure how they had stayed friends all through school since they were all so different.

Hinata was very shy and nerdy. Kiba was loud and goofy, And Shino was quiet and serious. But somehow they did and Hinata was glad for it because she was going to need their help.

The door bell rang and Hinata raced down to answer it.

"Hey guys. Thanks for coming on such short notice."

"No problem Hinata. I had just woken up anyway." Kiba walked in with his large white dog, Akamaru.

Shino didn't say anything and just walked in.

"Hinata do you mind if we grab something to eat? Akamaru and I forgot to eat before we left.

"Of course not. I'll go make you something. You want anything Shino?"

"I'm quite fine."

Hinata made Kiba and Akamaru some lunch and made tea for her and Shino.

Shino wasn't like most teenage boys. He only spoke when he thought it was nessacary. He always wore a pair of sunglasses so no one saw his eyes. He also wore a black jacket with a tall collar so no one could see his mouth either. Shino always wore a hooded jacket over his black one as well so no one saw the top of his head either. He was a very mysterious person.

"Now Hinata, why did you ask for us to come over?" Shino asked.

"Oh….well….um….you see I need your help with something."

"What's that?" Kiba asked between bites.

"I…..I…..I want to change. I'm tired of being the shy nerdy girl. This is our last year at Konoha High and I want to make it memorable. So I am asking you two to give me….a makeover." While Hinata was talking she shut her eyes so when she opened them she saw the shock look on Kiba and Akamaru's faces, while Shino stayed the same.

"A makeover? Who do you think we are, a bunch of girls?" Kiba asked.

"No of course not. It's just….I don't have any close friends who are girls. You guys are really my only friends." Hinata looked down in shame.

"Hinata, it's not that we do not want to help you. It is nice that you want to change for the better. It is just that we are only a couple a guys. This is something that you really should find a girl for." Shino explained.

Hinata felt the tears forming in the corner of her eyes. If she couldn't convince these two then there was no hope. "I know this is crazy and I know you don't want to do this, but I am begging you. Please, please help me. I have nowhere else to turn." Now there was no stopping the tears.

Kiba let out a heavy sigh. "Alright alright. Please stop crying. We will help you."

"Really?" Hinata ask.

"Yeah, it can't be that hard to do a make over and maybe it will be good for you to get it from guys."

"Oh thank you!" Hinata ran over and embraced Kiba in a huge hug. Kiba just laughed.

"Alright, this is going to take some time. I think our first step should be finding you a new wardrobe." Shino stood up and started heading for the door.

Hinata, Kiba, and Akamaru followed close behind.


	4. Let's Go to the Mall

The group walked through the mall.

"Where should we stop first?" Kiba asked.

"I believe we should start over there." Shino pointed over to a small boutique.

"Welcome, how may I help you?" The store clerk asked.

"My friend here would like to redo her image. We would like to look at some of your clothes." Shino explained.

"Of course. Now let me just get a look at you." The woman gave Hinata a quick look around. Hinata was wearing another pair of her baggy paint covered jeans and an old white tshirt with more stains on it. "Well, I see that we have a painter here, but what I can't see if that gorgeous figure you have hiding under those baggy clothes." Hinata blushed at the thought of someone calling her gorgeous. "Now I think I know exactly what you need. Come with me." The woman took Hinata to the dressing room in the back of the store. "You stay here and I will bring you some outfits to try on and you boys can go sit on those chairs over there."

They did as they were told, while the store clerk went around the store gathering up a pile of clothes.

"Hinata come out so we can see how the clothes look, okay." Kiba instructed.

A little while later Hinata stepped out of the dressing room wearing a tight fitted spaghetti strap white dress that stopped right above the knees.

"Sssss….oo what do you think?"

There was a moment of silence as all the boys, including Shino, had shocked looked on their faces. Hinata blushed at all the attention.

"HOLY CRAP HINATA! Why didn't you tell us you had a figure like that?" Kiba shouted. Now Hinata was as red as a tomato.

"I think what Kiba is trying to say is, you should get that dress. Now go ahead and try on another outfit." Shino went to cover Kiba's mouth so he wouldn't say anything else. Hinata nodded in understanding and went back into the dressing room.

By the end of the day, the group had gone to multiple shops, and had tons of bags.

"I think we have enough for your wardrobe." Kiba and Akamaru were both struggling with the bags.

"Yes, I think that is enough for today." Shino said. "But none of these clothes will matter unless we do something with your hair."

"What's wrong with my hair?" Hinata grabbed her hair defensively.

"Well no offense but your messy bun look is kind of old lady like, and those glasses aren't helping either." Kiba joked.

"Which reminds me, we need to get you some contacts." Shino mentioned.

"Um, well actually I don't need contacts. You see….I got eye surgery a long time ago I just wear these glasses because I feel incomplete without them." Hinata admitted.

"WHAT!" Kiba and Akamaru sweat dropped.

"You will just have to get use to not having them if you really want this makeover."

"You're right Shino."

_The Next Day…_

The group was now at the hair salon. Hinata sat on the chair while her friends were off to side.

"Now what look are we looking for?" The hair stylist asked.

Kiba came over. "She doesn't want what is trendy now, she wants to be ahead of the trend."

"Very well. Now lets take out this bun and head over to wash your hair." The stylist led Hinata to the washing station. "You boys go ahead and grab something to eat or something. I will take care of your friend. By the time you come back she will be a new person."

The boys understood and walked out of the salon.

"So tell me, which one of those handsome boys is your boyfriend?" The stylists shampooed.

"Neither. I don't have a boyfriend." Hinata had a giant blush on her face.

"Well I say you should go after that one with the dog. He's really cute." Next was the conditioner.

An even bigger blush was on her face now. "Oh no…they are more like older brothers. I could never see them like that. Besides…..I like someone else."

"Oh do tell."

"Well he's really nice and always makes me laugh. He knows all my secrets and is always there to protect me."

"Wow, he sounds like a great guy." The stylist helped Hinata back to the styling chair.

"He is, except he doesn't even see me as anything more then a friend. That's why I'm doing this makeover. To get his attention."

"I think that is great. You know what you want and you are going for it. Not a lot of girls would do that for a guy. He would be lucky to have you."

"Thank you." Hinata couldn't help but blush.

The stylist did one more final cut and turned the chair to face the mirror. "And with this hair cut he won't be able to do anything but look at you."

Hinata gasped. Her hair looked amazing.

The rest of the week Hinata spent with Shino and Kiba practicing how to walk and talk like a new person. Her cousin Neji, who was staying with her family to be part of some accelerated program at Konoha High, even helped, mainly due to the persistence of his girlfriend Tenten. The two of them were just as shocked by Hinata's transformation as Shino and Kiba were.

Hinata was grateful for Tenten's help. The boys had done a great job helping her with her hair and wardrobe but neither of them knew anything about makeup. Tenten taught her how to apply makeup so that it would look natural and not clown like.

By the end of the week Hinata Hyuga was a completely new person.

It was now Sunday, the last day of summer before school started, and the group of six were in the food court at the mall.

"Alright, now you look absolutely amazing Hinata, but now it is time for the final test. You have the look but do you have the confidence? I want you to walk over to the trash can on the other side of the food court and walk back without blushing." Tenten gave Hinata a serious look.

Hinata looked over to the trash can and saw that she would have to walk passed tons of people. "I….I don't think I can do that."

"Aw come on Hinata. If you can't even throw away your trash without people looking at you, how are you going to be when we have classes tomorrow?" Kiba encouraged.

Hinata knew he was right. If she couldn't do this simple task then there was no way she would be able to get Naruto's attention. "Alright, I'll do it." Hinata stood up suddenly and with a deep breath walked over towards the trashcan.

As Hinata walked, she could feel people's eyes staring at her. She heard some of the people murmuring about who she was. But Hinata knew that if she looked at them then she would blush and run back to the table. Hinata kept her gaze glued to the trashcan. Once she got there she quickly threw everything away and walked back to her friends.

She fell down into her chair with a big sigh, a huge grin was plastered on her face. She looked over at her friends. Kiba gave her a high five. Akamaru barked in agreement and the others nodded in a job well done.

"Good job Hinata. You are now ready to face your senior year. Now Neji and I got to go and catch a movie so we will see you guys later." Tenten gave Hinata a hug and waved bye to the boys before grabbing Neji's hand and heading off.

"You know, for the first time ever, I am actually excited for school tomorrow." Kiba boosted.

"Why's that?" Shino asked.

"Cuz, I can't wait to see the look on everyone's faces when they see our little Hinata all grown up and looking smoking hot." Hinata blushed at the compliment.

Shino pushed his glasses back into place. "Yes, it will be quite interesting to see how people will react to you makeover Hinata."

"I just don't know how to repay you two." Akamaru barked. "excuse me, three. None of this could have happened without you guys." Hinata could feel the tears developing.

Kiba started waving his hands in front of him. "No, no don't cry please. I hate when you cry."

Hinata laughed at her friend's panicked expression. "Alright I promise I won't."

"I think now would be a good time to give it to her Kiba." Shino looked over at his friend.

"Give me what?"

"Well, we know why you are going through with this whole makeover thing and we were more then happy to help you out. We four are like family and watch out for one another. So to finish off your look, Shino, Akamaru, and I got you something."

Akamaru then walked over to Hinata and dropped a small black box into her hand.

"What's this?" Hinata gave them a confused look.

"Open it up and find out."

Hinata did what she was told and when she saw what was inside she gasped. Inside the box was the most beautiful necklace she had ever seen. It was a crescent moon charm with lavender colored crystals inside it.

Hinata covered her mouth with her hand; there was no way of stopping the tears now.

"Aw man I thought you promised not to cry." Kiba said, a little uneasy.

Hinata ignored his comment and ran over and gave him a huge hug. "Thank you thank you. I love it!" Hinata then gave Shino a hug and patted Akamaru.

"No biggie. Just promise us that you won't tell anyone it was us that helped give you a make over. It would really mess up my image if you know what I mean."

Hinata laughed as she put the necklace on. Now she was absolutely positive she was ready for school tomorrow.


	5. Good bye Old, Hello New Hinata

**I was going to finish up this chapter and post it tomorrow but because of a certain review I did it today. So here's a shout out to Lost In Dreams19**

Hinata sat in her car trying to find the courage to step out. Once she did, the shy quiet Hinata who wore glasses and baggy clothes would be gone forever and the sexy hot Hinata who had confidence would replace her. She would miss the old her but she knew this was for the better. So with one more final breath Hinata opened her door and stepped out of the car.

The new Hinata stood by her car for a moment. For the first day of school this Hinata wore a white jean miniskirt, a light purple lace camisole, and a pair of white wedges. Her hair went down to her waist and was styled straight and her bangs were cut straight and stopped right above her eyebrows with two strands that came till a little passed her face to frame it. She had her white messenger and her moon necklace on.

There were only a few more minutes before her first class so Hinata wouldn't have time to see her friends or Naruto until lunchtime.

As Hinata walked to her locker, she could feel the other students looking at her. She even got a few whistles from some of the boys. Hinata tried her best to hide the blush that was now rising in her cheeks. Never in her life did she get this much attention from guys.

Hinata's first class of the day was advanced art with Kurenai. As she walked into class she was welcomed by bright colors and the smell of paint.

"Good morning, how are you?" Mrs. Kurenai smiled.

"Hi Mrs. Kurenai, I'm good. How are you?" Hinata responded.

"Hinata? Is that you?" Kurenai got up to get a closer look. Hinata nodded. "You look amazing. I didn't even recognize you."

"Thank you. That was the whole point."

"Well it will be very interesting to see how you friends react to your look. But that can wait. Go ahead and take a seat and start working on your artwork."

Hinata did was she was told and went and sat in her usual spot. She had brought the painting she was working at home to work on. Hinata was having a hard time getting the right emotion to come across.

Art class went by quickly, like it always did. Her next class was English with Mr. Kakashi and luckily she had that class with Kiba and Shino.

Hinata walked in and spotted her two friends sitting in the back. She went over and sat by them.

"Hey guys."

"Hey Hinata, how's the new look treating you?" Kiba asked.

"It's good. I'm still trying to get use to everyone looking at me. Especially the boys." Hinata blushed.

"They are just looking right, they're aren't trying anything else." Kiba had the whole over protective brother act down.

"Alright, alright, enough talking class." Kakashi took his seat in front of the class. "Welcome back to another year. Let's take attendance." Kakashi went on calling people's names. "Hinata Hyuga."

"Here." Hinata raised her hand.

Kakashi looked up. "Nice try new kid but you're not her. Hinata does not look like that."

"Seriously Kakashi? That is totally Hinata. Maybe if you took your head out of your Icha Icha book you would remember what your students looked like." Kiba practically shouted making the whole class laugh.

"I think that deserves a detention but since this is the first day I will let it past with a warning." Kakashi didn't even seem phased by the comment. He just went on with the rest of attendance.

"Thank you Kiba but you didn't have to be so rude to Kakashi." Hinata whispered.

"Please, Kakashi totally deserved it. He is always late to his own class and he spends most of the time reading his gross book."

"I guess but still."

The rest of class was spent like Kiba said, with Kakashi reading his book while the class just talked.

The bell soon rang indicating lunch.

"I'll meet you guys in the cafeteria." Hinata grabbed her bag and went to her locker.

_In the cafeteria…._

The usual group was sitting together at the end of the cafeteria.

"So did you hear about the new girl?" Ino asked.

"What new girl?" Chouji asked.

"Apparently there is some super hot new girl here and no one knows who she is." Ino mentioned. "Of course I highly doubt she is as good looking as me."

Some of the boys rolled their eyes.

"Do you know what she looks like?" Naruto asked.

"They said she has long indigo hair and she has an amazing figure."

"Wow she does sound pretty, but not as pretty as you Sakura." Naruto gushed.

Hearing the description, Kiba laughed.

"What's so funny dog breath?" Ino asked/screamed.

"Oh you will see in a minute." Kiba smirked.

"Why you." Ino started to stomp over to him.

"Look!" Naruto pointed across the room.

The entire table looked over to where he was pointing.

On the other side of the room the mysterious girl started walking across the cafeteria with the eyes of almost everyone staring at her.

"Damn she really is smoking!" Naruto said.

"Not bad." Sasuke even admitted.

"Idiots!" Shikamaru muttered.

While all the boys were gawking, the girls were sending daggers at the new girl.

Kiba was trying his hardest not to bust out laughing.

While Shino just commented "This is going to be interesting to say the least."

The girl walked up to their table and gave them a smile. She went and sat in her usual spot, which was next to Naruto and Kiba.

"Um excuse me, but that is my friend Hinata's seat." Naruto politely said.

"Why thank you for saving me a seat Naruto."

"Wait how do you know my name?"

"Are you telling me you don't recognize me?"

Naruto shook his head.

"Here I will give you a hint, let's play a game…..tag you're it."

"Hin….Hinata?"

"The one and only."


	6. Good and Bad Reactions

**Notice: italic now means "**_thoughts"_

Everyone sweat dropped and fell out of their seats. Now Kiba couldn't hold it in any longer. After seeing everyone's reaction, he busted out laughing.

"Oh my god, you should see the look on all your faces." Kiba wiped away a tear, he was laughing so hard.

"Impossible!" Sakura said. Hinata watched as she stomped over to her.

Sakura Haruno was one of the most popular girls in school. She was known for her beauty and her temper. She had mid length bubblegum pink hair that went down to her shoulders and bright green eyes. Today she was wearing a red sundress with matching red sandals.

"There is no way that this girl is that geeky four eyed weird girl." Sakura stuck her finger in Hinata's face.

"HEY watch it Sakura, that's my best friend you are talking to." Naruto moved Sakura out of the way and looked Hinata in the face. "Hinata, can you tell us what the hell is going on?"

"What ever do you mean Naruto?" Hinata acted incident. It wasn't like her to try and flirt but this outfit and the new her wasn't like her either.

"You know what I mean. Your hair, your clothes, its….its…."

"Hot." Kiba finished for his friend.

"KIBA! That's not what I was going to say, but, uh, yeah why do you look um…hot Hinata?" Naruto rubbed the back of his head and let out a nervous laugh.

"Oh well, since it's the last year of high school I figured it was a good time for a makeover. Do you not like it Naruto?" Hinata looked down, acting upset.

"No….no, I do like it. It looks good on you." Naruto waved his hands in front of him in a panic.

"Oh good. Well how about we finish eating lunch, we only have ten minutes before the bell rings."

"Um…okay." Naruto sat back in his seat.

Everyone went back to eating and talking. Every so often Naruto would glance over at Hinata who was laughing with Kiba, and a blush came onto his face. Which did not go unnoticed by Sakura. Neither were the glances that Hinata was getting from all the guys at the table, especially Sasuke.

Sakura gave Hinata an evil glare.

The bell rang, signaling lunch period ending. The cafeteria instantly got crowded as the students all got up and left for their next class.

"Hey Hinata, would you like to walk to gym class with me?"

"Oh hey Lee. Sure that would be nice. How come I didn't see you, Tenten, or Neji at lunch today?"

"That is because our amazing teacher Coach Gai needed our help with a youthful program he is working on." Lee stared getting stars in his eyes.

Hinata giggled. Lee always made her laugh.

Behind an ecstatic Lee and a laughing Hinata, a grumpy Naruto was following.

"What's wrong with you, dobe?"

"Nothing is wrong, teme."

"Please, you have been sulking since Hinata went off with Lee."

"No I have not." Naruto defended against his best male friend, Sasuke Uchiha.

"If you say so." And with that Sasuke walked off into the boy's locker room, leaving a fuming Naruto standing in the hallway.

Then the bell rang.

"CRAP! I'm going to be late for gym." Naruto ran into the boy's locker room to quickly change.

All the students were loudly talking as they waited for gym class to start. A loud whistle made the auditorium go instantly quiet.

"Okay, welcome to your first day of gym class. It will be hard and it will be tough but I am sure all of you in your youth will be able to handle it." Coach Gai told the class. "Now I assign you all to partners and then into groups. The groups will not change but your partners in the group will change every so often. Now let's get started."

Gai then started naming the kids into groups. "Hinata Hyuga, you will be partnered up with Sasuke Uchiha for now. Naruto Uzumaki and Rock Lee. Kiba Inuzuka and Shikamaru Nara. You six will be group 3."

"_Oh great, how come I get stuck with bushy brow while Sasuke get's the hot girl. Wait, did I just call Hinata hot?"_ Naruto looked over and saw Hinata. She wasn't wearing her usual baggy shirt and boy basketball shorts. She was wearing a pair of light pink running shorts with black piping and a tight fitting black tshirt. She was laughing with Sasuke and Sasuke was actually smiling. Just then Naruto felt something he has never felt before when it came to Hinata. He was actually…..jealous. He wished it was him that was partnered with her and it was him that was laughing with her.

"Are you ready Naruto for a youthful game of soccer?" Lee asked interrupting his thoughts.

"Huh? Oh yeah, bring it on."

Coach Gai blew his whistle once again. "Alright, now that all my youths have been put into their groups, we will begin the year with a nice friendly game of soccer with the groups against each other."

"_At least Hinata is in my group."_

Naruto walked over to where Hinata was. "Hey Hinata."

"Oh hi Naruto."

"So I know soccer isn't really your sport, but you don't have to worry. I'll help you out when you need it."

"Thank you Naruto but you don't have to do that. Sasuke already said he will help me out."

Sasuke gave him a smirk.

"Oh okay." Naruto walked off a little depressed.

The soccer tournament started off well. Group 3 was doing an excellent job. Hinata decided it would be best if she took the goalie position. Kiba and Shikamaru stayed behind to help with the defense. And Sasuke, Naruto, and Lee were the offense. (Sorry I don't know a lot about soccer) Since all three of the offensive players were on the school's team, they were dominating the tournament. The ball didn't get very far onto their side. Soon Kiba got bored and went to sit next Hinata in the goal while Shikamaru just lay down to look at the clouds and eventually fell asleep.

"So Hinata, is Naruto responding well to the makeover?" Kiba asked.

"I'm not sure. It doesn't seem he is acting any different then before." Hinata watched her blonde friend speed past the defense to try and make yet anther goal.

"Aw don't worry Hinata. I'm sure he will come around sooner or later." Kiba put his arm around his friend in reassurance.

Little did she know that he was giving her more attention then ever.

"_Hope you are watching Hinata."_ Naruto was doing his best to show off in front of Hinata. He would look back to make sure she was watching. But this time when he looked back he saw Kiba with his arm around Hinata. "What the…."

"NARUTO LOOK OUT!" Hinata stood up and shouted but it was to late. Naruto ran smack dab into the goal post. He fell back and laid motionless on the ground.

Everyone gathered around him. Hinata pushed through the crowd. "Naruto, Naruto are you okay?"

Naruto fluttered his eyes and slowly got his sight back. The first thing he saw took his breath away. Leaning over him was a girl with long indigo hair, beautiful lavender eyes, and a worried look on her face. "Hin..Hinata?"

A large smile came across Hinata's face. "Oh good, you are alright. Please don't scare me like that Naruto. I thought you were really hurt." Hinata brought him up into a hug which Naruto quickly returned.

"It's no biggie. Just a little head wound."

"Wouldn't be the first time, dobe."

Naruto pulled from Hinata and gave Sasuke a glare.

"Alright that's enough. I think that is enough for today. Head for the lockers everyone. And Naruto, if you need to see the nurse go ahead." Gai blew his whistle once more.

"Man he really loves that thing." Naruto muttered. When he heard a giggle he turned and saw Hinata laughing.

"So Naruto do you think you need to go to the nurse because if you do then I can take you there."

"Nah, I'm fine. But thanks for the offer Hinata."

The two of them headed back to the locker rooms to change before their last class of the day. (Where I live, high school only has four classes a day)


	7. Some best friend

**Sorry guys, I know it has been forever since I last updated. Its just school has started up again and it has me pretty busy. It stinks cause I don't have nearly as much time or energy to write. But I FINALLY was able to finish this chapter. **

**ENJOY.**

Hinata waited outside of the boys' locker room. Soon her favorite blonde walked out.

"Hey Naruto, I was hoping we could walk to art class together."

A huge grin was plastered on his face. "Sure that sounds great."

The two headed down the hallway. Naruto walked next to Hinata and he was noticing all the looks she was getting.

"So how's your head?"

"Oh it's fine. And thanks for signing up for gym class. I know it's not your favorite."

"You're welcome. But I don't mind at all. Kiba is also in the class, plus you signed up for my art class so it's more then fair."

The two of them walked into Kurenai's beginner art class just as the bell rang.

"Alright, everyone take their seats." Kurenai waited till everyone was settled before continuing. "Now I know that many of you just signed up for this class because you need that last minute art credit to graduate but I hope that you will find some enjoyment in the subject. We will start off with some simple projects and progress to more difficult ones as time goes on. We are lucky to have two of my best students here as our assistances, Hinata and Sai. Now if you need help with anything let Hinata, Sai, or me know and we will be happy to help." Kurenai went and sat once again at her desk.

Hinata stood up and continued, "Our first project will be to create a painting using as many of colors as possible. This will help understand the different tints and shades of the color wheel."

Students started to get up and grab their supplies. Naruto looked over to where Hinata was sitting at a table with Sai. They were both laughing about something. Naruto unknowingly gave Sai an evil glare.

"Hey dobe, what are you looking at?"

Naruto sent his evil glare towards Sasuke. "None of your business teme."

Sasuke just shrugged and started to draw.

Naruto decided to follow suit and grabbed a pencil. He looked down at his blank piece of paper. Tapping his pencil against the table, "Hmm, what should I draw?"

"How about an animal?"

Naruto dropped his pencil in surprised and turned around to see a pair of lavender eyes staring at him. "Oh hey Hinata." Naruto rubbed the back of his headed nervously. "What were you saying about animals?"

"I was saying that you should maybe draw an animal of some sorts. It's always a good place to begin."

"That's a good idea. I think I will draw a fox. They're my favorite."

Hinata let out a small giggle. "I already know that silly."

"Oh yeah." Naruto stifled out a nervous laugh. "So I bet this is really boring huh?"  
>"What do you mean?"<p>

"I mean having to help all of us who don't know a thing about art."

"Actually I really enjoy it. I always like to help people improve their skills. Plus Kurenai allows me to work on my own artwork when no one needs help."

"That's cool. Can I see what you are working on right now?"

A red faced Hinata shook her head vigorously. "O-oh n-no it's not even c-close to being d-done yet."

Naruto couldn't help but laugh. He always loved how Hinata would blush when she was embarrassed and how the stutter would still come out every so often. "Aw come on Hinata, please. And now that I think about it, I have never actually seen any of your pieces."

"Oh well ….that's because all my paintings are in my room and you….well….never asked."

Naruto looked down. He knew that Hinata had always been into art and he even knew about her dream of being an artist. Yet he never asked to look at her stuff, Some best friend he was. "I'm sorry that I never asked but now I am. Can I see your artwork…..please?"

"I guess so…."

Naruto gave her a huge grin. "Great, how about we go over to your place after school."

"That sounds good. Now I have to go help the other students. Meet me at my lockers." Hinata gave him a final smile and walked off to another table.

"Got a hot date tonight?"

Naruto turned his attention to Sasuke. "What?"  
>"Date. You do know what that is right?"<p>

"Of course I do. But why did you say I had one tonight?"  
>"You and Hinata."<p>

"Huh? I still don't get it."

Sasuke let out a deep sigh. "You and Hinata….going….on a…..date…..tonight."

It took a moment for Naruto to register what Sasuke was saying and when he did he waved his hands in front of him and had a panicked look. "Oh no, it's not like that. We are just hanging out as friends."

"Heh, if you say so." Sasuke gave him a smirk and went back to drawing.

Naruto was going to defend his and Hinata's relationship some more but saw that Sasuke wasn't listening anymore. So Naruto grabbed his pencil once again and concentrated on his drawing.

After was felt like a few minutes Naruto looked up from his paper. When he looked at the clock he was shocked that is was almost time to leave. He never realized how time flew when a person drew.

"_This must be one of the reasons why Hinata likes it so much, it's so peaceful."_

Naruto looked over and saw that Hinata was sitting at her table with Sai, working on what he assumed was her latest piece. He noticed how concentrated Hinata looked. She never looked away from the canvas as she dipped her brush in the paint. Then Hinata put her brush down and whispered something to Sai. He then stood up and walked behind Hinata. He leaned down with his head near Hinata's face. He was looking closely at her painting. What really angered Naruto was the fact that Hinata was actually letting him. He had just asked to look at it and Hinata had said no yet she was allowing this guy to look at it. Sai said something to Hinata and she nodded. He then went and sat back in his seat.

"Hey dobe, remember that you are borrowing my pencil, so don't break it."

Naruto looked down at his hand, he didn't realize it, but he had been clenching his fist as Hinata talked to Sai. "Sorry."

"Heh, come on lets get clean up. The bell is about to ring."

Naruto gave one more glance over to Hinata. "Fine."

**I'm sorry this chapter is so short. I just really wanted to update and give you all something to read.**


	8. Portraits

When the bell rang Naruto went to his locker to grab his books. As he was heading to the parking lot he had a huge grin on his face as he was looking forward to hanging out with Hinata. They haven't been able to hang out for a week. But as Naruto opened the door to the outside, his grin fell. Hinata was sitting on the hood of her car. But that wasn't what upset Naruto. It was the fact that around her was a group of guys.

To someone who didn't really know Hinata, she looked right at home talking to all those guys. But Naruto did know her, better then anyone else, and he could tell she was uncomfortable. The way Hinata would blush at the comments and the way that she would hold her arms, Naruto knew she wasn't totally comfortable with all the attention.

"_Even with the new look there is still some of the old Hinata in there."_

Naruto decided to walk over and save his best friend.

"Hey Hinata, I'm here!"

Hinata looked over and saw Naruto walking over, waving. She smiled and waved back. "Ready to go Naruto?"

"You bet."

Hinata turned her attention to the boys. "Sorry guys. I have to go now, but I will see you all tomorrow."

A large "AW" came from the boys as they walked away.

Hinata let out a small sigh of relief. It was going to take some time to get use to all the male attention. Hinata opened the door to her silver convertible, while Naruto just jumped in.

"Thanks for the ride Hinata."

"No problem. Ready to go to my house?"

"Totally, and maybe afterwards we can go to Ichiraku's for dinner."

Hearing the suggestion, Hinata started to blush. "_Is Naruto asking me out on a date?"_

"Sss..sure that sounds nice."

"Awesome. We might even run into the rest of the group while we are there."

Hinata's head suddenly dropped. _"So its not a date."_

"Hinata are you okay?"

Hinata looked up quickly and concentrated on driving. "Oh yeah I'm fine." The rest of the drive Hinata listened to Naruto talk about soccer and the upcoming season. She would chime in every so often to let him know she was listening. But soon they drove up to the gated Hyuga mansion.

"Wow, no matter how often I come here. I'm still shocked out how big it is."

"I know. It's way to much, but father says we have to keep up appearances. The main reason he gave me such a nice car."

"Well come on, I really want to see your paintings." Naruto had already jumped out of the car and was now at the door. Hinata got out, grabbed her bag, and followed. She unlocked the door and let Naruto in and led him up to her room.

Hinata's room was considerably large. It had white furniture, carpet, and a white canopy bed. The bed had a lavender colored blanket. Her walls were painted a plum color. And in one corner of the room was her easel and paints.

Her bathroom was nothing like her bedroom. While her bedroom was quiet and serene, her bathroom was loud and cheerful. It had a bright orange shower curtain and orange and blue towels hanging on the rack.

"Wow Hinata, I see you redid your bathroom. I really like it."

"Thanks."

"So let's look at your paintings. I have a lot of catching up to do."

"Um…okay. How about I just show you the work from this summer."

"Okay sounds good. Where are they?"

Hinata pointed over to the large pile in the corner."

Naruto sweat dropped when he saw the pile. "This is all from summer?"

"A….yeah. If it's to much then you don't have to…."

"No way. I said I was going to look at your paintings and that's what I'm going to do." Naruto walked over to the paintings.

The first one Naruto picked up was a picture of what looked like a horse and person sleeping under a tree.

"Wow this is really good, the horse looks totally awesome."

"Actually Naruto, that's a dog."

"Oh, heh sorry." Naruto rubbed the back of his head nervously. "I'm not very good with art."

"It's okay. If you take a closer look you might recognize the subjects."

Naruto did as he was told and looked more closely. He noticed that the 'dog' was white with brown ears and was really big, so big that a person could ride on its back. It was sleeping under the shade of a big oak tree. The person had his head resting on the dog, like he was a large pillow. He was wearing an all black outfit. He had brown shaggy hair and red triangles under his eyes, He seemed to be….

"_Wait, red triangles…."_

"HOLY CRAP! This is Kiba and Akamaru!"

Hinata let out a little giggle. "Yeah that's them."

"This is amazing Hinata! It looks just like them."

"Thank you. We were all hanging out one time in the park and I saw those two resting under a tree. It looked so sweet that I decided to paint it."

"What does Kiba think of it?"

"Actually…." Hinata started her nervous habit of pressing her fingers together. When she realized she was doing it, she stopped herself. "I never have showed them."

"WHAT! Why not?"

"Because what if they didn't like it?"

"Are you kidding? Kiba would LOVE this painting."

"How would you know that?"

"Because it's really good and it had Akamaru in it. And you know he loves anything that has to do with his dog."

Hinata couldn't help but laugh. What Naruto said was true. Kiba really did love anything that was about Akamaru. "I guess I could show him, but I'm not showing anyone else their portraits."

"Wait…are you telling me that there are more of our group?"

"Yeah, I have painted everyone at least once."

Naruto immediately handed Hinata the Kiba painting and went to check out the other works.

As he went through the canvases, he saw that Hinata wasn't kidding.

There was a painting of Shino, squatting down by a plant and examining a butterfly. Another one of Kiba, this time with him chasing Akamaru in a field of flowers. Then there was Shikamaru, lying on a grassy hill looking at clouds. Chouji, grilling meat on a BBQ at some restaurant. Ino, placing flowers in a vase at her family's store. Tenten, looking at a sword from her weapon collection. Lee, running on the track. Neji, sitting in the grass meditating. Sai, reading a book with some art supplies scattered around him. Sasuke, walking down an empty hallway. And even Sakura, standing in an orchard of cherry blossom trees.

All of them looked amazing and fit each and everyone's personality, but someone was missing.

"Hey, where am I?"

"Oh well I just finished one of you. It's sitting next to my easel. Hinata walked over and grabbed the canvas and then handed it to Naruto. "I'm sorry if you don't like it."

As Naruto looked at the drawing he couldn't help but put on one of his signature grins.

The painting was of him playing soccer about to score a goal.

"Seriously Hinata, how could you think I wouldn't like this. It's the best painting I have ever seen."

"Thank you Naruto. I'm glad you like it. But actually I have some more of you."

"Really?" Naruto couldn't help but sound surprise. He never would think anyone would be interested in drawing him.

"Yeah, just give me a second."

Hinata walked into one of her closets. One she used for her clothes and the other one she used for her art. She came out with a small box. "These are all paintings with you in mind.

Now Naruto was really surprised. There had to be at least five or six paintings in the box. "These are all of me?"

"Kind of."

Naruto walked over and went through the paintings.

The first one was a picture of him eating a bowl of ramen. Another was a picture of him sleeping in the grass after a hard soccer practice. There was one of him laughing at something. A picture of him with Sakura and Sasuke with their guidance teacher, Kakashi. Then there was one of him and his godfather, Jiraya, sharing a popsicle while sitting on a bench. But his favorite one was the very last one, it was a portrait of his parents. (Just so you guys know, his parents are alive in this story).

"These are truly amazing Hinata. You are such a great artist."

"Thank you."

"NOW HOW COME YOU HAVEN'T SHOWN THESE TO ANYONE!"

Hinata was shocked by Naruto's outburst. Although she knows she shouldn't be, after all….this was Naruto. "Like I said before, what if they didn't like the paintings."

"They would be truly crazy not to like them. And if they say anything bad, I'll make sure to set them straight."

Hinata let out a sigh. She knew that Naruto was not going to give up on trying to convince her.

When Sasuke had left the beginning of 9th grade to go looking for his missing brother, it was Naruto who convinced him to finally come back. It took him two years to convince Sasuke but he finally did and Sasuke was back with the group in 11th grade.

"Alright, I will show everyone when I get the chance."

"SWEET! Now come on. Seeing that painting of me eating ramen has suddenly made me hungry." Naruto grabbed Hinata's hand and dragged her to the car.

**YAY! Another chapter done and in just a couple of days from the last one. Now I tried my best to think of good paintings of the characters but some of them are not as good as the others (like Neji and Lee). So if you have an idea tell me and I will change it. **

**Thanks**


	9. No Competition

Naruto and Hinata walked into Ichiraku's and went and sat at a booth in the back of the restaurant. They ordered their food and waited for their drinks to come. Naruto couldn't help but stare at Hinata and he didn't go past him that others were staring at her too. But Hinata didn't seem to notice, and if she did, she didn't seem to care. All she was doing was staring at Naruto.

A warm feeling started to build up inside him that he didn't recognized.

"So, uh, Hinata there is something that I have been wanting to ask you." Naruto rubbed the back of his head nervously. The habit was starting to become more frequent as he spent time with Hinata.

"What's that?"

"Why did you change your look? I mean, I like it and a lot of other guys seem to like it too. But why now?"

"Well I have been wanting to change for a really long time now. I just never had the courage to do it before, but it's now our senior year and our last year really together as a group. So I finally found the courage to do it."

"Oh I see…."

"I guess I just didn't want to feel invisible anymore."

"Hinata…" Naruto said in a low and kind voice. "You were never invisible."

"Yes I was. Maybe not to you but to everyone else I pretty much was. No one at our table would give me a second glance, some not even a first. And why would they? I was the shy awkward girl who wore clothes two sizes too big and never spoke my mind. Well that is all going to change this year. This year I'm finally going to get my chance to be seen, to be heard."

Naruto could hear all the emotions in Hinata's voice. He heard the pain, the sorrow, and… the determination. Something that Naruto never knew that Hinata had. He gave her a reassuring smile. "Well I'm glad that you are changing for the better. I like this new you but just so you know, I also liked the old you as well."

The waitress came over with their drinks and broke the conversation. There was a moment of silence before Naruto broke it.

So Hinata, I was just wondering….why do you have so many paintings of me?"

A light blush came onto Hinata's face. "Well I paint what inspires me and you just happen to inspire me a lot."

"Really? Well that's awesome." Naruto stirred his drink with his straw. "So I have another question, why won't you let me see your drawing?"  
>"What drawing?"<p>

"The one that you were working on in art class today."

"Oh that drawing. I just haven't finished it yet. Once I am done then you can see it."

"But you let Sai see it." Naruto gave her a fake upset look. Making Hinata giggle.

"Sai's the best artist at Konoha High and he is just helping me out with it. But I promise you will be the first to see it once it's done. How does that sound?"

"That sounds like a deal. And Hinata, I really want to apologize for the fact that I have never seen your drawings. I wasn't being a good friend, but don't you worry, I'm going to make it up to you somehow."

"It's okay Naruto. I know that art isn't really your thing."

"Yeah, but soccer has never been your thing, yet you have made it to all my games."

"Actually I really enjoy it."  
>"Really?" Naruto couldn't help but be surprised.<p>

"Yeah, especially those moments in the game when the players run into the goal post…."

The two stared at each other for a second and then they both busted out laughing.

There awkward tension between friends had been broken and the two went into normal conversation.

Just then a bell rang, signaling the door had been open. In walked in a blonde and pinkette. The two of them walked over to an empty table. They told the waitress their orders. When she had left, Sakura took this chance to look around to see who from their school were there at the moment. She recognized a few people, but none who mattered, until her eyes landed on a girl with indigo hair and blonde haired boy. From where she was sitting, she saw Naruto tell Hinata something and she laughed.

Sakura couldn't help but notice how innocent and cute the laugh was. It was delicate and sincere. She also noticed the fact that other people were looking at Hinata as well. A surge of jealousy ran through her. They were all supposed to be looking at her. She was, after all, the most popular girl in school. The boys wishing to date her and the girls wishing to be her. She was asked out multiple times a week, and she would always refuse them.

It wasn't because they weren't good enough for her. She wasn't that kind of girl. Sure there were some people who she thought were beneath her but she didn't think she was a goddess or anything. The real reason she would refuse the dates was because she had her eyes on a specific person. He was the love of her life and he didn't give her the time of day. And that killed her. She has tried for ages to get him to notice her and she had gotten nothing, not even a passing glance.

Then this girl shows up. Hinata Hyuga. All through school she has always been that shy and awkward girl in school who was always pushed to the back of the class. And now with this makeover, she was on the verge of becoming the most popular girl in school.

"Not if I can help it."

"What's that Sakura?" Ino asked.

"Hm? Oh sorry, just thinking." Sakura gave her a smile. Then her smile turned into a frown as she turned to look at Hinata and Naruto again.

Ino followed her gaze and it didn't take her long to figure out what was wrong. "Don't worry Sakura. She has nothing on you."

"I already know that." Sakura snapped. "I just don't see what's the big deal. I mean, she is still the same weirdo."

"I don't know. I mean, when we were at lunch today she seemed a lot more confident and she actually seems really nice." Ino saw Sakura getting angry. "But…But don't worry she isn't any competition for homecoming queen."

"Hmpf, of course not." Sakura took a long sip of her drink. "I'm going to make sure of that."


	10. A Secret

Hinata and Naruto had finished their dinner and now Hinata was dropping Naruto off at his house.

"I had a great time tonight." Hinata blushed.

"Me too. And again I am sorry about not seeing your paintings."

"It's okay Naruto."

"No it's not. I'm going to find a way to make up to you. Believe It!"

Hinata giggled. She knew from past experience that when Naruto wanted something, there was no stopping him. Just one of the reasons why she loved him.

"Alright Naruto. Well I better get home before my dad gets upset. Good night."

"Night." Naruto watched as Hinata drove away. He meant what he said he was going to make it up to her no matter what. And he had just the idea how to do it.

As Hinata drove home she couldn't help but smile. It was a pretty good first day. She was actually looking forward to tomorrow.

_**The Next Day…**_

Hinata walked into Konoha High with a smile on her face. She was still in a great mood from hanging out with Naruto the day before. Today she was wearing a pair of light pink short shorts, a skinny white belt, a deep v lavender shirt, and white wedges.

Hinata walked over to the court yard where the group usually hung out in the morning. She instantly saw Naruto. He was sitting on a picnic table with his head down in his arms. Shikamaru was sitting next to him in the same position. Neither of them were morning people. On the other side of the table Sasuke sat on the edge his head in his hand. He had a look of boredom as he listened to Sakura talking. She was wearing a white halter top, a long red beaded necklace, dark washed short shorts, and red sandals. As Hinata got closer she could hear that Sakura was telling Sasuke about her big party this weekend.

Every year Sakura holds a big bash at her house to start off the school year. And with this year being their last, Hinata knew that it was going to be big.

As Hinata walked by she thinks she sees Sakura giving her an evil glare. But she just brushes it off as her imagination and goes and sits with Kiba and Shino.

"Good Morning guys."

"You sound like you are in a good mood." Shino points out.

"That could be because Hinata and Naruto had a date last night." Kiba then starts making kissing sounds at Hinata.

Hinata's face turns the color of a tomato. "Stop it Kiba. It wasn't a date."

"Please, it was just the two of you and you went out to dinner. Sounds like a date to me."

"So? We hang out just the two of us all the time."

"Whatever." Kiba waved her off. "So are you going to Sakura's party this weekend?"

"I don't know. I have never gone to one of her parties. Plus I don't think I'm invited."

"Everyone is invited to her parties." Shino mentions.

"Yeah, and its our last year, so you have to go."

"I guess I can go, but on two conditions. One, you guys have to go with me."

"What's the second condition?" Kiba asked.

"You have to help me pick out what to wear."

"WHAT!" Kiba shouts, making everyone look at him.

Hinata giggled. "Think of this as pay back for teasing me about Naruto.

"No way in hell am I sitting around and helping you pick out clothes." Kiba huffed.

"You already helped her once. Might as well do it again." Shino pointed out.

"Come on Kiba….please." Hinata knew not to give him any puppy dog eyes cause she knew he hated it. Instead she gave her best flirty smile. Which she knew would convince him, since he was the one that told her about it.

Kiba let out a sigh. "Fine. I'll do it."

"Oh thank you." Hinata grabbed Kiba in a huge hug.

Ever since Naruto was woken up by Kiba's outburst, he had been keeping an eye on Hinata. Today she looked really cute in the pink and purple. When he saw Hinata give Kiba a hug his heart dropped. Why were they hugging all the time?

Soon the bell rang and it was time for classes to start. Naruto watched as Hinata and Kiba walked into school together with Shino close behind. Naruto would have to wait until lunch to talk to Hinata.

The day went by pretty fast and soon it was the end of the day. The bell rang and everyone got up to leave.

"Do you need a ride home Naruto?" Hinata asked.

"Nah, I have soccer practice today."

"Oh okay. Well have fun. Text me if you can." Hinata waved as she walked away.

"You got it." Naruto waited till all the students were out of the classroom until it was only him and Mrs. Kurenai. "Hey Mrs. Kurenai, could I talk to you about something?"

"Sure thing Naruto, what is it?"

"The school hosts art showcases for the students right?"

Kurenai stopped grading papers and looked up at Naruto. "Yes that's correct. Usually we host showcases about twice a year."

"Is it possible to have a showcase but only for one student?"

"You mean like a gallery? I suppose so, if the student has enough pieces and if they are good enough to be on display. Do you want to have your own showcase?"

"Oh no way, not me. I was hoping you can help me set up a showcase of Hinata's paintings."

"Really? If you don't mind me asking, why do you want to do this?"

"Hinata has been my best friend since we were kids and I just now looked at her paintings. So to make it up to her I want to show everyone what an amazing artist she is."

"That is very kind of you Naruto. Why don't you let me talk to Principle Tsunade and we can see what we can do."

"Awesome. Well I'm going to be late for soccer practice so I gotta go." But when Naruto was at the door he stopped and look back. "And can you do me a favor and not tell Hinata. I want it to be a secret."

"Sure thing Naruto."

"Thanks Mrs. K, you're the best." 


	11. Finally Friday

The first week of school went by pretty fast. It was one of the best weeks Hinata has ever had. Her and Naruto were still able to spend time together even with his soccer and with her new look she was actually making some new friends, like Shikamaru and Sasuke. Neither of those two were guys that Hinata would usually talk to. Shikamaru was known for falling asleep in class yet always acing his tests. And Sasuke, well Hinata didn't really know that much about him except for what Naruto would tell her. She had always known him as the quiet secretive type who the girls chased after.

But now that they were gym partners, she was getting the chance to know him better. It was a little hard for her to get him to talk but she quickly found the secret to getting him to open up. All she had to do was stop pestering him with silly questions. He would talk to her when he was wanted to talk.

It was Friday and everyone was in their third period class. Hinata quickly changed into her gym clothes and waited for class to begin. Her gym outfit today was a plain white tshirt, solid black running shorts, and a hot pink running jacket with black piping going down the sleeves since it was a little chilly outside. A minute later Naruto came walking out of the boy's locker room. He was wearing black shorts and a orange form fitting sweatshirt. Hinata couldn't help but notice how, even under that jacket, Naruto still looked toned.

"Hey Hinata, you ready for some soccer?"

"I guess, although I still need a lot of work."

"I'm sure you will do fine. If you want, I could…."

But Naruto was interrupted by the sound of Gai's whistle.

"Alright, all you youth listen up. Today we will be takings a test." Groans came from all the students, except for Lee who was jumping for joy. "Your grade will be based on how well you do in various aspects of soccer, such as passing, shooting, and blocking. It will also be based on how well you and your assigned partner do as a team. Now go and warm up." Gai blew his whistle again.

"It's only the first week and we already have a test." Kiba groaned.

"What else do you expect from Gai?" Shikamaru lazily pointed out.

"Yeah you're right. At least he didn't go into a monologue about our youth."

"Why I think Coach Gai is an amazing teacher. And by giving us this test he is showing how much he cares about our youth." Lee continued on with his own monologue, but no one seemed to be listening.

"Come on Hinata, we need to warm up." Sasuke said.

"Okay."

Hinata followed Sasuke, leaving Naruto alone to wait for Lee to finish his speech. Naruto watched as Hinata did a few stretches on her own. When she bent down, Naruto couldn't help but notice that her butt looked awfully cute in her shorts.

"_Whoa did I just check out my best friend's ass?"_ Naruto couldn't only hope no one saw him. He continued to watch Hinata as she did some partner stretches with Sasuke. Naruto kept a close eye on Sasuke to make sure he didn't put his hands anywhere that they shouldn't be.

"Naruto, are you ready?" Lee interrupted.

"Huh, what? Oh yeah." Naruto walked and started do his own stretches.

Hinata and Sasuke stretched in silence. Only talking when they had to change positions. Which was fine by Hinata, she was to nervous to talk anyways. She was worried that she wasn't going to do very well in the test, especially because she didn't want to bring down Sasuke's grade with her own clumsiness.

A while later Gai blew his whistle signaling everyone it was time for the test. All the partners lined up and waited for their turn. Their first test was blocking and shooting. One member would be the goalie while the other one did the shooting.

When Hinata and Sasuke were called up, Hinata took the first turn as the shooter and Sasuke went into position as goalie.

She had to shoot five balls at Sasuke as hard as she could. Hinata was worried, she was never very good at sports especially when it came to soccer. She always had a tendency to trip on the ball when she tried to kick it. Taking a quick deep breath Hinata kicked the first four balls as hard as she could. To no one's surprise Sasuke was able to block all of them without a problem. But when it came to the fifth and last ball, Hinata was determine to get it passed Sasuke and make the goal. So Hinata took a couple steps back and ran at the ball just when she was about to kick it she tripped on her shoe lace and fell flat on her face. The field erupted with laughter.

Hinata sat on the ground crumpled in a ball. Her face the color of a tomato but no one could see it because her head was cover by her hands. She could feel the tears beginning to form on her face.

"Quit laughing or I'll make you stop!" Hinata looked up and saw Naruto yelling at everyone. She could tell that he was angry just by the look in his eyes. He then turned around and faced her and gave her a kind smile. "Are you alright?"

Hinata nodded for it seemed she had lost her voice.

"Okay good." Naruto held out his hand. Hinata gladly took it and pulled herself up. "Don't worry Hinata. That was nothing compared to my face plant into the goal post the other day."

Hinata giggled remembering the look on his face when he hit the post.

When Naruto heard Hinata laugh it made him smile. He was happy she was feeling better. "Now go and show them what you are made of."

Hinata nodded and walked over to the goal.

As she passed Sasuke he gave her a slight smile. "Are you okay?"

"A…yeah." Hinata answered a little surprised. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to trip and I'm sorry I lowered your grade."

"Hn. It's no big deal, it was an accident. And I'll just give us some extra points with my shots. And just so you know, I won't be going easy on you." Sasuke then walked to where the balls were.

Hinata looked over and saw some of the boys were still snickering at her fall. She was about to lose her confidence again but then she saw Naruto giving her a thumbs up and his signature grin. She smiled back at him and took on more final breath before getting into her stance.

The Hyuga family was known for their extraordinary eyes, but what people didn't know was that the eyes could be used to catch things that no normal eyes could. It had something to do with their descendants from China, who were apparently a very powerful clan in their day. The eyes were especially helpful with defensive attacks. But since there was no fighting in modern day, they came in handy with sports.

Hinata patiently waited for Sasuke to make his first kick. She figured he would kick them one at a time into the goal, but that was not the case. Sasuke made it that he kicked all the balls at such a speed that they all came at her at once.

Now the old Hinata would have crouched into a ball and let the balls wiz by her. But this wasn't the old Hinata anymore. She had a new look and a new attitude and she was going to do her best. The balls came at her from all angles but Hinata was prepared. Hinata blocked each and everyball. She was fast and precise. Moving just enough to block a ball before having to move again to block the next one.

After just a few seconds, Hinata was standing in the goal breathing heavily. The field was silent as everyone had their jaws on the floor, even Naruto. Then they all broke out into cheers. A girl was able to block all of Sasuke's shots and he was one of the best on the soccer team.

"Now if that wasn't a great display of youth I don't know what is!" Gai exclaimed. "Hinata, you MUST be on my team."

"But…but Coach we don't have a girl soccer team." Someone pointed out.

"Exactly, so that means you can play on the boys team."

"Oh no…I'm fine but thank you."

"Come on….please" Both Gai and Lee gave her puppy dog eyes. That look may not work with Kiba but it did on Hinata.

"I'll…I'll think about it."

Gai and Lee broke into a cheer and jumped in their signature poses. Hinata couldn't help but giggle at their antics. She then walked over to Sasuke.

"I'm sorry once again. I didn't mean to steal the spotlight."

"Hn. It's fine. That was actually impressive. If you do join the team, I could help you out with developing your other skills."

"Uh… sure. That would be nice." Hinata wasn't sure but it sounded like he was offering to help her. Something she didn't expect. Sasuke walked off without another word.

"Way to go Hinata! I didn't know you were that awesome at soccer." Naruto cheered.

A light blush rose in Hinata's cheeks. "Th…thank you Naruto."

"You HAVE to join the team. It would be awesome."

"I don't know. I'm not really that good at soccer except for being a goalie."

"Well I can help you with that. Come on, at least think about it."

"I will."

"Great, Now come on. We have one more class before the weekend."

In art class Hinata spent most of the period helping a freshman, who was practically drooling over her, with his drawing.

Naruto did his best to concentrate on his drawing but he couldn't help but glance over at Hinata from time to time.

"Naruto could I talk to you for a minute?"

Naruto looked up and saw the teacher standing there. "Sure Mrs. K." Naruto followed Kurenai outside the classroom. "What's up?"

"I just wanted to talk to you now because I have to leave immediately after class to pick up my kid from day care. Mr. Asuma has to stay after and can't pick him up."

"Oh ok."

"I talked to the principle about your showcase idea."

"And…"

"She says she will allow it."

"YES!"

"Naruto, I'm not done. She will allow it on the condition that you do not do anymore pranks."

"Seriously? Man, I should have known that old lady would do something tricky. Alright it's a deal."

"Very well. When would you like to schedule it"

"How about the Friday before Homecoming?"

"Okay. I'll set it up." Naruto was about to walk back into the classroom. "And Naruto, I think its very sweet what you are doing for Hinata."

"Thanls Mrs. K. I just hope she feels the same way."


	12. Get this Party Started

**Sorry everyone for not updating for a while. I have been busy with another story and other stuff. Hopefully now I can put my attention on this story.**

"Okay, so should I go with this one or this one." Hinata was holding up two different party outfits. "Ooorrr….maybe this one." Hinata picked up another outfit.

Kiba was lying on Hinata's bed with Akamaru. He let out a moaning sound. "I think….I'm gonna….dddddiiiiiieeeeeeee."

Shino was sitting on a chair in the corner. "Stop the whining Kiba. We agreed to help Hinata and that is what we are going to do."

"I'm sorry Kiba." Hinata looked down. "I just…I just wanted to look nice."

Now Kiba was feeling guilty. "Nah, it's fine. What were the choices again?"

Hinata gave him a smile. "I have it down to three choices. The white tshirt with the blue skinny jeans, the purple skirt with the lavender top, or the pink shorts with the white top." Hinata help all of them up for the boys again.

Kiba tapped his chin like he was thinking. "I don't like any of them."

"What?" Hinata asked.

"None of them are right for Sakura's party."

"Kiba is right. This is your chance to make a statement and these outfits do not do it."

"Then what should I wear."

Kiba got up and walked over to the closet. "You should wear this." Kiba held in his hands a strapless light pink flower dress. It had a thick lavender ribbon that tied around the waist and small flowers that decorated the hem of the dress.

"I agree." Shino nodded at Kiba's choice.

Hinata was about to protest but was interrupted by the sound of someone's phone.

Shino looked down at his phone. He then put it away and stood up. "I have to go and I will not be able to go to the party tonight. My apologizes." Shino made his way out.

"What's the matter Shino?" Hinata asked.

"There was an accident with one of my insect communities. I must go now. You two enjoy the party." And with that, Shino left.

"But, but…if it's just Kiba and I then it looks like a…a…date."

"Oh gee thanks Hinata. Am I really that bad?"

Hinata shook her head furiously. "No…no that's not what I meant. You're great and I'm sure a great date." Hinata's face was starting to get tomato red.

Kiba couldn't help but tease her more. "So you're saying that you would like to go on a date with me?"

"No…I mean yes….I mean…."

Kiba busted out laughing. "Hinata, calm down. I was just kidding."

Hinata seemed to calm down. "It's just that, I don't want people to get the wrong impression at the party."

"Like it matters. And besides maybe it will be a good thing. Naruto might even get a little jealous."

Hinata hadn't thought of the jealous idea before. She was never into tricks like that.

"Now Akamaru and I have to go, but I'll come and pick you up for the party around 7."

"Okay. That sounds good. Thank you for helping me out."

"Sure no problem."

Soon Kiba and Akamaru were gone and Hinata was alone.

Since she had her outfit picked out and she took a shower in the morning, she decided to spend her time painting.

Hinata turned on her music and went to her easel.

Hinata put down her brush and stepped back from the easel.

"It's looking good, but I'm still not even close to being done." Hinata then glance over at the clock. _"6:30, I have plenty of time."_

Recognition hit and Hinata looked back at the clock. "Oh no! I only have thirty minutes until Kiba picks me up." Hinata ran into her bathroom.

At 7 on the dot, Hinata heard a knock on the door.

She ran downstairs and opened the door. Kiba was standing there dressed in a red button down shirt, black tie, dark washed jeans, and his black leather jacket.

"You look really handsome Kiba." Hinata complimented.

She saw him get a slight blush. "Uh, thanks. You don't look to bad yourself."

"Thank you. You guys really did pick out a cute outfit."

"Just don't tell anyone that. Like I have said before. I have a reputation to keep."

Hinata giggled.

"And here." Kiba then shoved something into Hinata's hands. She looked down and was shocked to see a bouquet of violets. She gave Kiba a look of confusion. And now he had a blush that could have put Hinata to shame. "Akamaru and I were walking home and he stopped at a stand and sniffed them. So I bought them. Don't get any ideas about this."

Hinata simply smiled. "Well in that case can you give this to Akamaru." Hinata then kissed Kiba on the cheek. He instantly went red in the face.

Hinata giggled at his reaction. "Shall we?"

Kiba got his composure back. "Oh yeah right. Come on."

_**Sakura's House….**_

The party was in full swing and the place was packed. Anyone who was anybody at Konoha High was there. The crowd was actually making Hinata a little nervous. She usually dodged these kinds of events, making excuses like she had homework or chores to do.

Kiba slugged his arm around Hinata's shoulders. "So are you ready to make your grand entry?"

Hinata just nodded.

Kiba and Hinata walked in. Once Hinata entered the room, it seems like everything else stopped. The whole crowd was staring at Hinata.

"Looks like I know how the pick them. The outfits I mean." Kiba quickly explained.

"I know. Maybe I should tell all the girls about it." Hinata teased.

Kiba shook his head vigorously.

Hinata just laughed.

"Well I'm going to go a mingle with the ladies. Will you be alright?" Kiba asked.

"Yeah I'll be fine." Hinata then watched as Kiba walked off to talk to a group of girls.

Hinata stood there for a moment, all alone. Feeling totally awkward and out of place, she debated just leaving.

"I haven't seen you here before."

Hinata turned around and to her surprise, saw Sasuke standing there. "Oh well…this is my first time."

"I see." There was a moment of silence between the two. "You want to go outside? It's less crowded."

Hinata was a little surprised by Sasuke's invitation. He usually wasn't this nice. "Um…sure."

Hinata followed Sasuke. When they got outside, Hinata quickly noticed that Sasuke was right about it being less crowded. There was still a large amount of people there but there was now some room to breath.

Hinata looked around. Sakura's house was pretty large and so was her backyard. Of course it wasn't as large as the Hyuga House, but still. There was a large pool and a hot tub. And it looked like Sakura put a dance floor outside as well.

"So are you doing anything tomorrow?" Sasuke asked.

"Uh, no." Hinata didn't know what Sasuke was asking but she really hoped it wasn't a date.

"Want me to help you with your soccer skills tomorrow?"

Hinata let out a mental sigh. Relieved he wasn't asking for a date. "Sure. That would be great. Thank you."

"Hn." Was all Sasuke said.

Hinata was about to ask Sasuke the details when she was interrupted.

"OH SASUKEEEE!"

Hinata noticed Sasuke cringe a little but he quickly covered it up and turned around. "What is it Sakura?"

"I was wondering…." Then Sakura noticed Hinata standing next to Sasuke. "Oh hey Hinata. Cute dress. So Sasuke, I was wondering if you wanted to dance?"

Sasuke let out a sigh. "Sure."

Sakura let out a little squeal and the two of them headed to the dance floor. Sasuke glance back at Hinata and it looked like he was in pain. But that didn't surprise Hinata. What did was when Sakura glanced back at her and gave her a mean look.

Once again, Hinata was standing all alone. But then she heard a voice that made her heart flutter.

"HINATA!"

She turned around and saw Naruto walking her way. She instantly had a smile on her face. "Hi Naruto."

"I didn't think you were gonna come. But then I heard a bunch of people talking about a cute girl with purple hair was here and I knew it was you."

Hinata blushed. _"Did Naruto just call me cute?" _Hinata looked Naruto over. He was wearing a black polo, jeans, and of course, orange chucks. In other words…he looked adorable.

"So what do you think of the party?" Naruto asked.

"It's nice. Although I kind of lost Kiba."

"Why are you looking for him?" Hinata didn't notice the slight edge in Naruto's voice.

"Well we came here together and he's my ride."

"Oh, so you two are going out?" Naruto asked.

"Oh no!" Hinata quickly answered. "We were suppose to come with Shino also but he had an emergency and couldn't come."

Naruto let out a mental sigh of relief. For some reason, that he couldn't explain, he did not like the idea of Hinata dating Kiba.

"So….um…..Hinata…." Naruto rubbed the back of his head. "would you care to dance?"

Hinata was looking around but when she heard Naruto she whipped her head around to face him, shocked by his question.

"A….s-sure." A light blush came onto her pale skin.

Naruto gave her a big grin. "Awesome." He grabbed her hand and walked over to the dance floor.

Hinata had never danced with a boy before so she was a little nervous. And of course Naruto knew this, so he gave her one of his reassuring smiles. "Don't think about it so much. Just let your body move to the music."

Hinata nodded. Closing her eyes and taking a deep breath, Hinata did as Naruto advised and let her mind go empty. She let the music go through her. Then, without her even realizing it, her body started to sway.

In no time at all her hips were moving side to side, in sync with the song playing on the speakers.

Then Hinata felt strong hands gently grab her hips and pulled her close to them.

"There you go. You're a natural." Naruto whispered into her ear as he kept in sync with Hinata.

Hinata was thankful that Naruto was dancing behind her so he couldn't see the huge blush that had risen on her face.

Sure she had been close to Naruto but never this close. They were moving in perfect sync with each other. Never missing a beat as the rhythm changed from fast to slow. Feeling rather courageous, Hinata turned around to face Naruto and wrapped her arms around his neck. He flashed her a grin that made her heart soar. The two of them leaned their heads in so their foreheads were touching. Neither of them said a word. They just kept on dancing, enjoying each other.

The chemistry between Hinata and Naruto did not go unnoticed, especially by a certain pinkette.

Sakura was having a blast dancing with Sasuke but she instantly noticed that he kept taking glances over at Hinata. This angered her to the core. She had been after Sasuke since they were kids and then this girl comes out of nowhere. So when she saw the way Hinata was acting with Naruto. A devious plan was already going through her mind.


	13. Every Sunday

Hinata was having a blast at the party. Her and Naruto continued to dance for a while longer then when they were both tired they went inside to grab something to drink. The two of them found a bench outside to sit down and rest.

"So what do you think of the party?" Naruto asked.

"It's a lot of fun. I didn't think I would enjoy it this much."

"That's good. But if you think this is fun wait until Homecoming. Now that's fun."

"Really? How so?"

"Well, the school always hires one of the student teachers from the Academy of Sound as our DJ, and they decorate the gymnasium with tons of balloons, and then the best part of it is all the girls are dresses in sexy dresses."

Hinata couldn't help but be a little disappointed about Naruto talking about how all the girls being sexy. "Um…I don't think that part is going to be a lot of fun."

Naruto finally understood what he had said. "Oh well the boys are sexy too….I mean not that I think boys are sexy, I like girls like you, I mean not that I like you like that…..UGH!"

Seeing Naruto ramble like that made Hinata laugh.

Hearing her laughed made Naruto relaxed. He had never been nervous around her before but ever since school started he was now constantly worried about what she thought of him.

Naruto rubbed the back of his head. "So what are you plans for the rest of the weekend? I was thinking we could get the gang together and go and hang at Ichiraku's or something."

"Oh that sounds nice, but I….well you see…I kind of already have plans."

"You do?"

"Yeah, Sasuke offered to help me work on my soccer."

Naruto was stunned. First off, that Sasuke would ever offer someone help. They had been frienemies turned just friends since they were little kids and Sasuke had never once offered to help him out. And they were on the same soccer team. And then there was the fact that Hinata had actually accepted Sasuke's offer. Naruto figured she would come to him for help. It actually made Naruto upset, but he didn't want Hinata to know that.

"Oh okay. Well that's cool, I guess. Maybe next weekend I could help you out." Naruto offered.

"Yeah, I would like that a lot."

The two of them sat there in awkward silence. Something that had never occurred before between them.

"HINATA!"

Both of them looked over to see Kiba walking over towards them.

"Yes, Kiba?" Hinata answered.

"It's time for us to go. Your dad will have my head if I don't get you home on time."

"Oh I didn't realize how late it was." Hinata turned and gave Naruto a hug. "Thanks for dancing with me. I'll see you at school."

"Yeah, see ya." Naruto watched as Hinata walked off with Kiba. "HEY HINATA!" Hinata turned around. "TEXT ME WHEN YOU GET HOME!" He shouted.

Hinata smiled. Ever since the two of them had gotten phones, they had a rule that the other person would text the other person when they got home. That way they would always know that they got home safely. One of the many reasons she loved him.

Naruto saw Hinata give him the 'OK' sign and watched her leaved. He let out a deep sigh. He wished he was the one taking her home, but of course he would need a car for that and his was in the shop for another week.

_**Hyuga Mansion…**_

When Kiba drove up to the mansion, the two of them said their goodbyes and Hinata gave Kiba a kiss on the cheek making him blush once again.

Hinata watched Kiba drive off into the night and then went inside and straight to her room. She took out her phone and sent a text message to Naruto.

**To: Naruto**

**From: Hinata**

**Home**

Then she went into her bathroom and changed into her pajamas. When she came out she saw that she had a message.

**To: Hinata**

**From: Naruto**

**Okay good. I just got home also. Have fun tomorrow and if that teme gives you any trouble you know who to call. Night!**

Hinata giggled as she read the text message. Naruto was always looking out for her, almost like an older brother. But with Neji, Kiba, and Shino, she had enough brother like protection. From Naruto she wanted something more. She just hoped that this new her would do that trick.

The long day was finally getting to Hinata as she climbed into bed. She soon fell asleep thinking of the night, especially her dances with Naruto.

_**The Next Day in the Park…**_

Hinata had woken up that morning with a text message from Sasuke. She wasn't sure how he gotten her phone number but guessed he got it from Naruto. It had said to meet him at the east side of the park in the soccer field at noon.

It was 11:30 and Hinata had gotten there early. She hated to admit it but she was a little nervous about her practice with Sasuke. He always seemed so serious even when they were little kids. They had never really talked until this year when they were partnered up in gym. That could have been because Hinata had never been one of his many adoring fans. Sure she thought he was handsome, in that mysterious kind of way. But she had never liked the way he treated others. He was always seemed to give people the cold shoulder and looked down on them. He was the complete opposite of Naruto. Naruto was loud and full of energy. He may not have been the brightest person or the most talented, but he was full of heart and always tried his best. Something that Hinata had always admired him for.

Hinata was so deep in thought that she didn't notice someone walking up behind her.

"Good you're here."

The voice surprised Hinata and she let out a little "eep". When she turned around and saw Sasuke standing there with a bag off soccer balls, she relaxed.

"So are you ready?"

Hinata simply nodded.

"Good. Now from what I saw in class the other day, you obviously are already good at defense. What you lack is offensive skill." Sasuke dropped the bag and pulled out a ball. "We are going to start off with some simple exercises then next time up it to something more difficult."

Hinata gulped. "Next time?"

"Yeah, I'm going to help you with your skills every Sunday."

Hinata wasn't sure she was hearing Sasuke correctly. "Every Sunday? But I thought this was just a onetime…"

"Listen!" Sasuke cut her off. "I highly doubt that you are even near good enough to get these basic exercises down. Let alone become a player of the same caliber as me in one practice session." Sasuke turned around and started walking away from Hinata.

Now Hinata wasn't the kind of person to lose her temper easily but Sasuke was getting on her nerves. He says he is going to help her but instead he goes to snap at her and insult her. The old Hinata might have just said he was having a bad day and just let it go but this new Hinata wasn't having it.

Hinata stomped over to where Sasuke was placing some cones. "Hey we are not done talking."

Sasuke turned around and to his surprised saw what he assumed was an angry looking Hinata.

"Now you may think you are all that Mr. Soccer Player, but I am here to tell you that you are NOT! You are just a big jerk who needs someone to put you in your place."

Sasuke raised his eyebrow at her. "And you think you are that person."

"I guess so, since I don't see any other person with enough balls to do it. I agree that I need to work on my offense but if you are going to be the one to teach me then you need to get rid of the insults and try to be nice for once."

Sasuke was shocked. No one had ever talked to him the way that she had. Not even the hot tempered girls like Sakura or Ino. They usually got all quiet and girly around him. Instead this Hyuga is standing in front of him telling him that he was a jerk. He should be mad but actually he enjoyed it. He was sick of people treating him like he was some sort of god.

"Alright. I apologize. I will work on my coaching skills. How does that sound?"

"Uh…" Hinata was shocked. She had never heard this guy say he was sorry before. She can't wait to see how Naruto will react when she tells him. "Okay then. That's all I'm asking."

"Awesome. Now I want you to zig zag around these cones while kicking the ball."

Hinata nodded and started the exercise. She was doing well in the beginning. She was already down half the field, but then once again she tripped over her shoe laces and tripped.

She was waiting to crash to the ground. She had shut her eyes waiting for the pain from slamming into the hard ground. But when neither the pain nor the impact came she slowly opened her eyes. It's then that she realized that someone had their arms around her waist and had caught her midfall.

"You know, you should really double check your laces before you play." Sasuke said still holding Hinata.

Hinata couldn't believe it. She was in the arms of Konoha High's most popular guy. There were dozens of girls who would have killed to be in her position. But this was even to much for the new Hinata. With her face the color of a tomato, she quickly scrambled to stand up. Sasuke let go of her once he knew she had her feet on the ground.

"You alright?" He asked.

Hinata nodded. "Th-thank you."

Sasuke just waved off her thanks. "Hn. No problem. Just start over and don't fall this time."

Hinata obeyed and grabbed her ball and went to start the exercise again.

The rest of the afternoon she did the same exercise until she was able to do it with her eyes closed, literally. Sasuke had eased up on the insults but his compliments did not come easy. She had to work hard for them. Once Sasuke said it was enough for the day, she fell to the ground totally exhausted. She was not use to this much physical activity.

Sasuke walked over to Hinata and sat next to her and handed her a bottle of water.

"Thank you." Hinata instantly started to gulp down the water.

"You did good today. A couple more simple exercises and you will be ready for games in no time."

Hinata wiped the water from her mouth. "Well I don't know. I still haven't decided if I want to play or not."

"Why not?"

"I don't know. I guess I'm worried that if I mess up that I would let everyone down."

"I've seen your goalie skills first hand and I know that you wouldn't disappoint anyone if you went onto the field."

"You think so?"

Sasuke just nodded.

"Thanks Sasuke. I really needed to hear that."

"Sure. Just don't tell anyone. This 'jerk' has a reputation to keep."

Hinata couldn't help but giggle. He sounded a lot like Kiba. She was lucky that these boys were willing to risk their reputation to help her. "I'm sorry for calling you a jerk." Sasuke just shrugged. "How about I make in up for you and say thanks for helping me with soccer by treating you to some dinner?"

Sasuke grinned.

"I'll take that as a yes."


	14. Interesting Day

**So last chapter sounded a little SasuHina but don't worry, this is still a NaruHina story. There will be other SasuHina moments but that is all part of the story.**

**ENJOY**

After gathering up the soccer equipment, Sasuke and Hinata walked towards parking lot.

"Did you drive here?" Sasuke asked.

"No. I rode my bike."

"Are you planning on biking all the way to Ichiraku's?" Sasuke smirked.

Hinata started her old habit of playing with her fingers. "I didn't really think about that."

"It's cool. I can give you a ride, just remember you're buying."

"Of course. Thank you."

When they got to the parking lot Sasuke got his keys out of his pocket and unlocked his car.

Hinata noticed that the black BMW Beamer's lights flashed.

"Whoa, that's your car?" Hinata was shocked. She knew that her silver Mercedes convertible was a nice car but Sasuke's car looked so much cooler.

Sasuke put the equipment in the back and go inside to turn the car on. Hinata followed and put her seat belt on.

The two drove in silence. On the way there, Hinata realized that they were both still in their workout clothes.

"_Great, I'm sure i look like a mess, with my hair coming out of my ponytail and I bet I smell like sweat." _Hinata wished she could change but Sasuke was in his sweaty clothes also, so maybe it would be fine for her too.

Sasuke parked the car and got out. Then, to Hinata's shock, he walked around and opened the door for Hinata.

"Um, thanks." Hinata said.

"Hn." Sasuke then walked off to the restaurant and Hinata had to run to follow.

The bell jingled as Hinata and Sasuke walked through the door. Hinata quickly looked around and spotted a empty table on the other side of the room.

"There's a seat." Hinata grabbed Sasuke's hand and started dragging him towards the table.

"HINATA!...and….Sasuke?" Hinata looked to where she heard her name was being called from and saw a spot of orange and yellow in the corner of her eye. She turned and saw Naruto waving to her and Sasuke to join.

Hinata walked over and saw that sitting with Naruto was Kiba, Shino, Shikamaru, Ino, and Sakura.

"Oh hi guys." Hinata smiled.

"So are you and Sasuke on a date?" Shikamaru lazily asked.

"NO!" Both Naruto and Sakura practically shouted.

Hinata blushed at the suggestion. "No, why would you say that?"

Shikamaru shifted his gaze down to her hands. Hinata followed and realized that she was still holding on to Sasuke's hand. Hinata quickly snatched her head away. "I'm so sorry Sasuke."

Sasuke just shrugged. "No big deal. Let's just sit down already." The two of them sat in the only two empty seats, next to each other.

Sasuke may have said it was no big deal but that was just him. For some of the others at the table it was a huge deal.

A person could practically see the fumes coming off of Naruto he was so angry. He had known about Hinata's practice with the teme. He couldn't believe that they were hanging out more then that. Add that to the fact they were holding hands Naruto was ready to burst.

Sakura wasn't doing any better. She had to use all her will to stop herself from flying across the table and beating Hinata to a pulp. But she remembered that Sasuke was sitting right next to the little nerd and she didn't want to have him upset with her.

Ino saw her best friend was getting upset and lean over to talk to her. "Don't worry Sakura. They are defiantly NOT on a date. I mean look at what Hinata is wearing." Ino pointed to Hinata's messed up hair, flushed face, and dirty gym clothes.

Sakura took a deep breath and calmed herself down. "Of course they are not on a date. Sasuke wouldn't be caught dead with someone like her." But Sakura wasn't as positive as she sounded. She had been noticing that the two of them had been talking lately. She couldn't have that, so this was a perfect time for her to begin her plan.

"Oh Hinata!" Sakura called across the table.

Hinata and the boys turned to look at the pinkette.

"Yes Sakura?"

Sakura gave her a coy grin. "I was wondering if you would like to hang with Ino and I tomorrow after school."

Hinata had a shocked look on her face. "Are you sure?"

"Of course. We have never actually hung out before just us. It would be fun. So what do you say?" Sakura gave Hinata a smile to sweet to be sincere.

"S-sure, that would be nice."

"Perfect." Sakura went back to her salad and talking to Ino.

"Well that was weird." Kiba joked to break the tension.

"So Hinata," Naruto rubbed the back of his head. "Do you need a ride home? My dad let me borrow his car."

"Don't worry about it dobe. I gave her a ride here and I can give her a ride home." Sasuke quickly answered.

"I don't think I like that idea. I have seen you drive and I don't think it would be safe for Hinata. I will drive her home." Kiba interjected.

Hinata looked between the three boys. They were all giving each other death glares. She couldn't understand why they were all acting like that.

"Uh, thank you guys, but I left my bag in Sasuke's car, so I think I will go with him."

"Hn." Sasuke smirked in triumph.

While Kiba grunted and Naruto pouted.

The rest of dinner went by awkwardly. The three boys kept giving each other glares and Sakura and Ino were giving Hinata those to sweet smiles.

When Sasuke pulled up to the Hyuga mansion, Hinata was more then relieved.

"Thank you for the rides Sasuke."

"Sure. Don't forget, we are doing the same thing next week."

"I understand. Good night."

"Night." And with that Sasuke left.

Hinata sighed.

It had been one interesting day. She couldn't imagine what was going to happen next.


	15. Another Day at School

Mondays were never easy, but Hinata was actually in a good mood. The weekend had been a blast. She was starting to make friends with Sasuka, she was going to hang with Sakura and Ino today, and most of all…she got to dance with Naruto at the party.

School went by like it usually did. Boring with something interesting every once In a while.

In English, Kakashi was actually on time and spent the class talking to everyone about Shakespeare's famous play _A Midsummer Night's Dream._ Most of the kids groaned, whining about not like Shakespeare. But Hinata was actually excited. She did agree with Kiba that Shakespeare was hard to read and a little confusing but once you got past the wording, it was aa romantic love story. All about people loving the wrong person and in the end, they realize who they really should be with.

"Now, we will be reading this story for the rest of the week. Your assignment is to pick a scene from the play and act it out. This will be in groups of three. If I were you, I would pick my group now and start practicing." The bell then rang signaling the end of class.

Hinata gathered up her things. "So do you guys want to be a group?" She asked Shino and Kiba.

"Sure sounds good to me." Kiba gave a toothy grin. "As long as I'm not Puck."

Hinata giggled. Just imagining Kiba as a fairy was priceless. "What about you Shino?"

"I would not mind working with you two."

"Great. How about we look through the scenes tonight, and then tomorrow we can decide which ones we like best."

The boys nodded in agreement. Hinata gave a final wave and then headed for her Advanced Art Class.

Taking her usual seat, Hinata immediately went to work on her painting. It was probably the longest she had ever spent on a painting. It wasn't that the subject was particularly hard to paint. She just couldn't get the right feeling across. There was something missing as she just didn't know what.

Hinata spent the class peacefully working. Mrs. Kurenai aloud the advance class to listen to their mp3 players, because she felt that it help to inspire the inner artist.

In no time at all the bell rang and it was time for lunch.

Hinata ran to her locker and grabbed her lunch. The whole gang was already sitting at their usual table when Hinata sat down.

"Hey Hinata!" Naruto grinned.

"Hey Naruto. How are you?"

"I'm good, just tired. Not sure how I am going to get through gym and art." Naruto groaned.

"Maybe it's because you eat so badly." Shikamaru pointed out. "Instead of eating ramen all the time, you should think about eating a fruit every once in a while." The whole table busted in laughter. While Naruto pouted.

Hinata giggled. Naruto always looked so cute when he pouted. "Here Naruto." Hinata handed him half of the orange she had just peeled. "This will help you."

"Thanks Hinata. Orange is my favorite color and fruit." Naruto joked as he bit into it. "Mmmmmm, its sweet….just like you." Naruto grinned.

Hinata blushed at the compliment. _"Was Naruto just flirting with me?"_

"So Hinata…." Everyone turned to see Sakura with her chin on top of her folded hands with her elbows on the table. (Think Sasuke in the Academy)

"Yes Sakura?"

"Why don't you meet Ino and I out by my car ten minutes after the bell. We are planning on going to the mall."

"O-okay." Hinata didn't know why but she felt very uneasy with Sakura.

Soon the group started to have their own individual conversations. Kiba and Naruto got into a contest to see who can throw grapes the highest and catch them in their mouth. Lee was judging the competition and cheering them on. But the bell rang and they had to come to a draw with a promise of a rematch.

Hinata walked to gym with Naruto on her left and Sasuke on her right. As Hinata walked down the halls, she noticed the evil looks coming from all the girls, even ones that she didn't know. It didn't surprise her though, considering she was walking between two of the hottest and most popular guys at Konoha High.

Everyone changed and headed out to the soccer field.

"Ah, there's my favorite youth filled goalie!" Coach Gai exclaimed loudly.

"Hello there coach." Hinata finished tying her shoes and stood up.

"So have you decided about my offer?"

"I have. And I thought it over and I would happily accept your offer to be the soccer team's goalie."

Both Coach Gai and Lee cheered and went on to strike some weird pose making Hinata laugh hysterically.

Once Coach Gai got his composure back he came back over towards Hinata. "I am glad to hear you accept. Now I will need to grab some papers for you about the team and our practice schedule. Since you haven't been playing for long, you will need some private practices. I'll set it up for you."

"Actually, Sasuke is helping me out and Naruto said he would help too."

"Excellent! You are already thinking ahead, I like that. Now go and show me what you got." Coach Gai then blew the whistle.

Hinata spent the rest of class practicing with her group with a little one on one with Sasuke. Her practice did help. She was having an easier time with running and kicking the ball at the same time. Gai whistled and sent the kids to change and head to their next class.

Hinata walked with Sasuke and Naruto to Beginners Art where Hinata was a student assistant.

"Are you guys almost done your drawings?" Hinata asked.

"Mine's is almost done. But I can't figure out how to make the fox look more realistic and not just flat."

"Well I'll help you." Hinata turned her head to Sasuke. "How's yours looking Sasuke?"

"It's good. I'll be done with it today." He said simply.

The trio walked in and took their seats. Once everyone was in their seats, Kurenai motioned everyone to get their supplies.

Naruto immediately jumped up and practically ran over to where Hinata was sitting with Sai. "Can you help me now?"

Hinata laughed at Naruto's eagerness. "Sure. Come on and sit down." Hinata patted the seat next to her.

"I'm going to help the other kids, since you are taking care of dickless." Sai stood up and left before Naruto could yell at him.

"So what is it you need help with?"

Naruto brought his attention back to Hinata. "Well if you look at the fox, it looks boring. All it is, is solid orange. It needs something more."

"I get what you are saying. Tell me, do you want this to look realistic or fantasy like?"

Naruto shrugged. "Either works. I just want it to look cool."

"Well in that case, may I suggest a more fiction type look."

"How do you mean?"

"It's solid orange, so to add more excitement I think you should add some black highlights to it, like around it's eyes." Hinata leaned down to draw circles around the fox's eyes. "And then maybe, some kind of aura around him to give him a glowing look."

"Can we make it red?"  
>Hinata laughed. "You can make it any color you want."<p>

"Then in that case, I'm going to add some major white fangs to it." Naruto leaned in to see what Hinata was doing. Unconsciously he placed his hand on Hinata's back.

Naruto didn't notice the movement but Hinata did. Feeling Naruto's strong hand on her petite back made her freeze. She stopped drawing mid line and dropped the pencil and rolled to the floor.

Naruto noticed and leaned in to get a better look to see if she had a fever.

Embarrassed, Hinata picked her head up. Their faces met each other with only an inch between them. They were so close that Hinata could feel Naruto's hot breath. Neither of them moved, both staring deeply into each other's eyes.

"Hin…." But Naruto was interrupted by the sound of the bell. And the sound of chairs scraping and kids talking.

"Hinata, could you and Naruto clean up?" Kurenai asked.

"Sure thing, Mrs. Kurenai." And with that the moment was broken. Hinata stood up and started gathering supplies. "You can go Naruto. You don't have to stay."

"It's cool. I want to."

Hinata blushed, "Th-thank you."

Naruto grinned. "What are friends for?"

"So Naruto I forgot to tell you yesterday about my practice with Sasuke."

"Oh." Naruto grumbled. He really didn't feel like hearing about how amazing Sasuke was and how she wanted to spend more time with him, like all the other girls.

"I told him off and called him a big jerk."

Naruto stopped what he was doing and stared at Hinata with a smile. "You didn't?"

Hinata nodded. "Yep. I told him that I didn't like the way he treated people and that he couldn't insult me."  
>"Good for you."<p>

Hinata nodded. "He actually agreed and even apologized."

On this news Naruto dropped the brushes he was holding. "No….freaking…..way. That teme actually apologized?" Hinata nodded. "I can't believe it. In all the times that I have known that guy he has never once apologized."

"Well he did at least once."

Hinata and Naruto finished up and headed for the parking lot.

Hinata quickly found Sakura and Ino sitting on the hood of a red car with boys surrounding them.

Ino saw Hinata and waved her over.

"I guess that's my sign to go. Thank you again for helping me clean up."  
>"No problem. Don't mention it." Naruto gave Hinata a hug. "I'll see you tomorrow. Let me know how it goes. Maybe you might even be able to convince Sakura to stop hitting people." Naruto rubbed his head. "She doesn't look like it but she can hit pretty hard."<p>

Hinata giggled. "I'll try. Bye, and have fun at soccer practice."

"Thanks. See ya."

Hinata watched Nartuo walk away and then facing Sakura and Ino, made a deep sigh.

Why did it feel like she was walking into the lion's den?


	16. Frenemies?

Hinata walked over to Sakura and Ino and gave them a nervous smile. "Hi guys."

"Hey there Hinata. How was school?" Ino asked.

"It was good. How about you?"

Ino was about to respond but Sakura cut in. "Enough small talk for now. Did you drive to school today?"

"No. Neji drove me today."

"That's perfect. That means you can ride with us and not have to worry about dropping you back here." Sakura smiled.

But her smile made Hinata uneasy. Hinata got in the back of the car and Ino sat in the passenger seat. Sakura put the keys in and they drove off to the mall.

Hinata stayed quiet through the drive. She didn't really have any close girlfriends, unless she counted Neji's girlfriend Tenten, so she didn't feel very comfortable just yet.

"Here we are!" Sakura put her car in park and the girls got out and headed for Konoha's mall.

Konoha Mall was big. It was two stories of shopping along with a third floor that held a movie theater. Besides Ichiraku's, it was a common hang out place for teenagers.

"Where should we start first?" Ino asked.

"How about Kunoichis' Korner? It my favorite store here." Hinata offered.

"Oh good idea. I love their clothes." Ino cheered.

"What do you think Sakura?" Hinata asked.

"I think that would be good."

As the three walked through the mall, heads defiantly turned. Practically all the boys would do a double take at them. Sakura and Ino seemed to bask in the attention while Hinata just looked down.

"Hinata, if you are going to hang with us from now on, then you are going to act like us." Sakura said while winking at a guy who was working the pretzel stand.

"Yeah, cheer up and enjoy the attention." Ino added.

"What do you mean hang with you from now on?"

"I mean, since you are now actually popular, you can now hang with Ino and I socially. Congrats." Sakura coldly explained.

"O…okay." Hinata simply said. She wasn't to sure she actually wanted to hang out with them. She was quite content hanging with her guy friends. These two made her uncomfortable. But she wasn't going to say anything. To be honest, Sakura scared her a little.

And how could she not be scared. Sakura was the most popular and prettiest girl Hinata knew. She had all the boys chasing after her like Lee and Naruto. Hinata knew all to well about Naruto's obsession with her. He has had a mad crush on her since they were kids and when he was teamed up with her and Sasuke with Kakashi as their teacher freshman year, he nearly burst with happiness. But no matter how hard Naruto tried, Sakura would always turn him down and sometimes even use physical pain to show how much she did NOT want to go out with him.

Hinata hated to admit it but she was glad Sakura didn't have feelings for Naruto. It would kill her to see Naruto with someone else. She would be happy for him of course but her heart would break.

Kunoichis' Korner was a small boutique in the middle of the mall. It had all the latest trends for young woman and it was reasonably priced.

"Ah, look at this skirt!" Ino quickly spotted a short form fitted dark purple dress with a black tribal design on it.

"That would look nice on you Ino." Hinata smiled. She really did mean it.

Ino was a very beautiful girl. With her long blonde hair and bright blue eyes, she was the ideal girl for many guys. But it seemed she was always in the shadow of her best friend Sakura. They had an odd relationship of fighting and calling each other names then hugging and laughing a few minutes later.

Sakura just nodded her approval of the skirt and went to look through the rack of blouses.

The girls gathered up the clothes they wanted to try on and headed for the changing rooms.

Hinata was the first to walk out in a simple white flowing top and the jeans she had been wearing that day. She looked in the mirror but couldn't decide if she liked it or not.

"Do I look hot or what?" Hinata turned around and saw Ino come out in a sexy light fitted corset like top and a short jean skirt.

Hinata's eyes went wide. The outfit practically left nothing to the imagination. Even with her makeover, Hinata knew she would never put those two things together and call it a good outfit.

"Not as much as me." Then Sakura walked out in a short short red skirt and tight deep v-neck shirt.

Once again Hinata wouldn't be caught in the outfit.

"What do you think Hinata?" Ino asked.

"Oh….um….well…"

"Speechless. I think that's a good sign. Don't you agree Sakura?"

"Actually I don't like those outfits at all." Hinata blurted.

To say that Ino and Sakura were shocked would have been an understatement. No one has ever said anything like that.

Hinata saw a flash of anger cross Sakura's eyes and she was immediately regretted saying anything.

"And what's so bad about our outfits?" Sakura had her hands on her hips.

"N-nothing."

"Come on Hinata, tell us." Ino asked a little more kindly.

"Well its just….that those outfits are so revealing. They don't leave much to the imagination."

"Ha, what do you know?" Sakura scoffed.

The old Hinata would have backed down but this Hinata wasn't going to let Sakura scare her. "I do know what boys like." Hinata snapped back. "I am close friends with a bunch of them and they tell me stuff."

"Sakura, she does have a point. She's best friends with Naruto. Close friends with Kiba and Shino. And she even talks to Sasuke."

Hinata noticed a change in Sakura's expression when Ino mentioned Sasuke.

Sakura let out a sigh. "Alright. What would you suggest we try on?"

Hinata gave her a smile. "Just stay here for a second."

Hinata knew she didn't have the best fashion sense but she did learn a lot when she went shopping with Kiba and Shino. They showed her what guys thought was hot and what clothes were not. How short was too short and how to be sexy without being too revealing. She grabbed a few outfits and walked back to the dressing rooms.

"Here try these on."

A few minutes later Ino and Sakura walked out in their outfits.

"This is SUPER cute!" Ino spun around.

Hinata had picked out a flowing bright blue skirt with a white floral print on it and a simple white off the shoulder blouse.

"I have to admit I look good." Hinata a put Sakura in a figure fitting tshirt dress that went down to just above the knees. To complete the outfit Hinata added a pink belt to showcase Sakura's unique hair.

"I'm glad you like it." Hinata smiled. Maybe she could really make some good girlfriends.

"Now it's our turn." Ino grinned.

"W-what?"

"You picked us outfits, now we get to do the same." Sakura pulled Hinata out of her seat and into the dressing room.

Ino had picked out an outfit and flung it over the door. "Put this on if you want to get out." Ino and Sakura giggled.

A few moments later Hinata peaked her head out the door. "Do I really have to show you guys this? Its really revealing."

"Yes you do." Ino proclaimed. "Now come on."

Hinata reluctantly opened the door. She stood in front of Ino and Sakura wearing a tight black corset with lace trimming, and a short jean skirt. It was a very un-Hinata type outfit.

"Oh you are SO getting this." Ino declared.

"Totally. You look hot." Sakura chimed in.

"I don't know guys."

"Come on. Would we steer you wrong?" Sakura asked.

She then gave Hinata another one of her too sweet to be real smiles. Which made Hinata want to say yes. But she already messed up once today. She wasn't going to do it again.

"N-no."

"Great. Then its settle. We will buy the outfits you picked out and you will buy that one." Sakura and Ino picked up their clothes and headed for the cashier. Hinata quickly changed back to her clothes and walked over to meet up with them. But she made a mental note to hide the outfit deep inside her closet.

The girls walked around the mall and did a little more shopping. Once they had maxed out their cards they headed for the food court and ordered some smoothies.

Hinata grabbed her strawberry banana smoothie and went to meet up with Sakura and Ino who had found a table in the center of the court.

"So Hinata, can I ask you a question?" Ino took a sip of her mango smoothie.

"Sure."

"Why did you change your look?"

"Oh…. I guess I wanted to get out of the background and make a statement before we all left for college."

"That makes sense."

"There's more." Sakura said. "That can't be the only reason."

"Well… it was also to get a boy's attention." Hinata blushed.

"Awwww how sweet." Ino cooed. "Who is he?"

"I rather not say."

"It's Naruto right?" Sakura asked.

Hinata eyes widened. "H-how did you know?"

Sakura shrugged. "It's pretty obvious. You blush all the time around him. And that stuttering thing seems to come out a lot around him. Any one with half a brain could figure it out."

Hinata put her head down. "Oh….I didn't realize I was so easy to read."

"It's okay Hinata. We all have crushes. Just look at my girl Sakura here. She is so madly in love with Sasuke that she…" Sakura stopped her by stepping on her toe. "OW! Hey what's that for?"

"Shut up Ino-pig."

"What's your problem forehead! I was just telling Hinata how you can't tell Sasuke you like him."

Hinata stayed quiet and watched the two best friends hash it out. She had a feeling that Sakura liked her gym partner, but Sasuke had never given her any indication that the two of them even talked let alone that Sakura liked him.

"So Hinata…" Sakura broke Hinata from her train of thought. "What is it that you like about Naruto anyways?"

"Oh…well… a lot of things I guess. He has been my best friends since I was little. He has always been there for me even when no one else was. He gave me the courage to do better. He showed me that no matter what other people think about you, as long as you believe in yourself, anything is possible. He showed me that no matter how many times you fall down, its up to you to stand back up." Hinata saw Ino and Sakura give her a strange look. "It's pretty silly I know. Naruto would never see me that way."

"Aw don't say that Hinata. You never know. Boys can surprise you. Look at Sai. Who would have guessed that he liked me and turn out to be such a good boyfriend."

"Wait. You're dating Sai!"

Ino giggled. "Oops I shouldn't have said anything. We just became a couple before school started and we have been kind of keeping it a secret from our rents."

"Oh well that's nice. He's a really great guy." Hinata said honestly. She and Sai had always been friends in art class. He was the only one she trusted to see her paintings.

Hinata checked her phone. "OH NO! Is it really that late!"

"What's the matter?" Sakura asked.

"I have to get home. My dad will kill me if I'm not home soon."

"So you have a strict dad huh?" Sakura asked.

"Very."

"Interesting." Sakura mumbled.

"You think you could take me home?"

"Sure no problem." Sakura smiled.

The girls headed to the car. When they pulled up to Hinata's house their jaws fell to the ground.

"This is your house?" Ino gasped.

"Yesh. I know, its to big for just the four of us." Hinata got out of the car. "Thanks for the ride. I really had a nice time."

"Yeah us too. Maybe we can do it again sometime." Ino and Sakura waved as the car pulled out of the drive way.

Hinata waved one last time before going inside. She actually had fun and was looking forward to getting to know them better. Maybe they weren't as bad as she thought.


	17. Practice

The week went by fast and it was already Sunday. Hinata had spent Saturday at home. Naruto said he needed to spend time with his godfather Jiraiya.

Hinata had offered to go with him, but Naruto freaked out. Saying something about her new look giving "Pervy Sage" as Naruto liked to call him, a heart attack or even worse….an idea for a new book. So Saturday was spent working on her art and catching up on homework.

Not that Hinata minded. Last weekend was so busy that she had fallen behind.

Now it was Sunday and she was standing in the soccer field waiting for her coaches. She didn't tell Sasuke that she had invited Naruto to practice with them, nor did she tell Naruto that Sasuke was going to be here as well. She had tried to tell him, but he looked so excited about them spending time together, she was worried she was going to disappoint him.

"That's silly. Naruto and Sasuke are friends, and besides, why would he care if we were alone or not."

"Who are you talking to?"

Hinata spun around and saw Sasuke walking towards her with his bag and some cones.

Hinata blushed. She didn't realize that she was talking out loud. "Oh, no one. Just myself."

Sasuke shrugged and started to set up an exercise. Hinata sighed and sat down to do some stretches.

"Alright, you ready?" Sasuke asked.

Hinata nodded.

"Last week you worked on kicking in pretty much a straight line. Now I want you to kick the ball around the cones in a clover formation. Got it?"

"Yeah, I think so."

"Then go."

Hinata started to do her exercises. It was a lot harder than it sounded. She was either kicking the ball out of the clover or tripping on her feet. And Sasuke's intense gaze didn't help her either. It was like he was piercing her very soul.

Hinata stopped running to catch her breath. She was about to start again when she heard something.

"HINATA!"

She turned to see who was yelling out her name. She smiled when she saw orange coming her way. "Hi Naruto."

Naruto came to a sudden stop in front of her and leaned over to catch his breath. "Sorry….i'm….late…."

"It's okay. Sasuke has been helping me out."

Naruto shot up. "Sasuke?"

"Yeah." Hinata pointed over to where Sasuke was leaning against a goal post. "He coached me last Sunday and said he would do it every week. Hope you don't mind."

Actually Naruto minded a lot. He wanted to be the one that taught Hinata soccer. After all she was teaching him about art. But he wasn't going to say that out loud. "That's cool." Naruto walked over towards his friend. "Hey there Sasuke."

"Naruto."

Hinata watched as the two friends gave each other glares and decided to break it up. "So what's next?"

"We are going to work on you shooting. The ones that you did in gym class were pretty pathetic."

"Hey! Don't say that to Hinata." Naruto defended.

"It's okay Naruto. I know I need practice."

"You are going to shoot the ball into the goal as hard as you possibly can." Sasuke went to stand in the goal.

Hinata went to stand in front of the row of balls.

"You can do it Hinata." Naruto gave her a thumbs up.

Hinata smiled and than ran at the balls and kicked the first one. She thought she did well until she looked and saw that it simply roll and gently tap Sasuke's feet.

Hinata wanted a hole to appear under her at that very moment. She was pathetic.

"Don't worry about it. Try again." Naruto encouraged.

Hinata looked over to Sasuke and he nodded.

She was happy that they didn't make fun of her sad looking kick. This time she backed up a little and ran at the ball. This time the ball got some air but Sasuke blocked it without even moving.

"You need to stop being so gentle. Kick it with some anger." Sasuke ordered.

Hinata tried again. She took a deep breath. She tried to think of something that angered her but nothing came to mind. She just wasn't that type of girl. Instead Hinata thought about how much she wanted to impress Naruto.

She ran at the ball and kicked it with all her might. Naruto and her watched as the ball went flying through the air. For a second Hinata thought it would go in but than Sasuke quickly caught it.

Hinata let out a frustrated sigh.

"Next time try aiming for the ends of the net so the goalie has to run."

"Thanks Sasuke." Hinata gave him a smile. "How come you don't become goalie? You seem really good at it."

Sasuke shrugged. He was about to answer when he was suddenly hit straight in the face by a soccer ball. The force was so hard he fell backwards.

Hinata eyes widened. She didn't kick it so that would only mean….

Hinata looked and saw Naruto rolling on the ground laughing.

"Naruto." Hinata put her hands on her hips and tapped her foot.

He looked up and saw the pissed off look on Hinata's face. He gulped. That was not a look he was use to. "Y-yeah?"

"Why did you do that?"

"I don't know…cuz it was funny."

"You should go and apologize."

"You can't be serious?" But the look on Hinata's face told Naruto she was. "Fine, but only for you." Naruto slowly walked over to the goal.

Sasuke was sitting on the ground with a pissed off look on his face. "What the hell do you want now dobe?"  
>"Sorry." Naruto mumbled.<p>

"What's that?" Sasuke smirked.

"I said I was SORRY!" Naruto grumbled.

"Whatever." Sasuke stood up. "It wasn't that good of a kick anyways."

"I'll show you a good kick."

"Both of you need to play nice." Hinata commanded.

Both the boys huffed but Hinata smiled. No wonder Sakura was teamed up with these two when they were freshman. She could only imagine the screaming she had to do to keep them from killing each other.

"Can we get back to practice?"

The boys nodded and went to work. The rest of the afternoon was spent on Hinata's blocking. Both Naruto and Sasuke kicked what felt like millions of balls at her and she had to block as many as possible.

When it was all over Hinata was bent over breathing heavily.

"That was awesome Hinata! You got almost all of them." Naruto patted her on the back.

"Not bad." Sasuke nodded in approval.

Hinata looked up at the two and smiled. "Thanks for the help."

"Anything for you Hinata." Naruto smiled. "But its getting late. I should get you home."

Hinata nodded in agreement. "Need help packing up Sasuke?"

"No. I'm fine." Sasuke went to start getting the balls together.

"Alright. See you tomorrow and thanks again."

"Come on Hinata." Naruto grabbed Hinata's hand and started dragging her to the parking lot. "My car is all fixed so now I can drive you home."

The two got into Naruto's car and headed for the Hyuga mansion.

"So how has it been with Sasuke?" Naruto asked.

"Oh well….um good I guess. He is actually starting to talk to me."

"Really?"

"Yeah. I think we are starting to become friends."

"That's nice." But from Naruto's tone, Hinata didn't really believe him. She thought that Naruto would be happy that she was becoming friends with his closet guy friend. That meant that they all could hang out together.

Soon the car pulled up to the mansion.

Hinata got out of the car. "Thanks for the ride."

"Sure thing. Now go get some rest. Tomorrow starts your first day of soccer practice with the team."

"Oh yeah. I forgot. I'm actually a little nervous."

"Don't be. Everyone is pretty cool and if anyone makes fun of you just let me know and I'll take care of them."

Hinata smiled. "Thanks Naruto. You're the best. Well good night."

"Night."

Hinata gave a final wave as she watched Naruto's car disappear wishing that he had stayed.

**Now i have a few more foundation chapters to plant so just bare with me, the real fun will be coming up shortly**


	18. JUST Friends

**So remember when you were in elementary school and when it was your birthday, YOU were the one that brought in the treats? Well this is kinda of like that but instead of cupcakes, I'm giving you fantastic readers updates on all my stories today because….ITS MY BIRTHDAY! *:)**

**ENJOY**

Hinata let out a small yawn as she walked down the hallway Monday morning. Practicing soccer and refereeing between Sasuke and Naruto is tiring work. She still wanted to know how Sakura was able to do it.

Hinata was walking towards her usual seat with Kiba and Shino when she heard someone calling her name.

Hinata was surprised to see it was Sakura.

"Hey Hinata."

"Um, good morning Sakura." Hinata turned her attention to the others sitting at the table. "Sasuke, Ino, Sai."

"Morning Hinata. You look horrible." Sai gave her a smile.

Most people, like Sakura and Ino, would punch Sai in the face for saying something like that but Hinata didn't mind. He was being honest and there was nothing wrong with that.

"That's because I worked her hard yesterday." Sasuke said.

Everyone's eyes widened in shock. Hinata felt her cheeks getting hot. They were taking that as something totally different.

"H-he means in soccer. He is coaching me in soccer." Hinata quickly went on to explain.

Hinata was relieved to see everyone relax. The look on Sakura's face had actually scared her.

"So anyways, I called you over to see if you wanted to hang later this week." Sakura asked.

"Oh…um…sure. That sounds nice."

"Great. I'll text you."

Hinata nodded and left to hang with her close friends.

"What are you doing talking to her?" Kiba asked.

"She asked to hang this week."

"Please tell me you said no. I do not trust her."

"I agree with Kiba. It is odd of her to start talking to you now." Shino said.

"I know, but I want to get to know her before I make an assumption like that."

The group heard the bell ring and they all got up to head for their first period classes. Hinata looked for the combo of orange and yellow in the crowd. She found it sleeping on a bench. She giggled at the sight of Naruto snoring with some drool hanging from his mouth.

Hinata leaned down and gently shoved him. "Naruto….Naruto."

"Five more minutes." He mumbled.

Hinata stood up and put her hands on her hips. She needed to wake him up fast or else they were going to be late. Than an idea stuck her.

"Oh alright five more minutes, but don't blame me if there is no ramen left."

Naruto instantly shot up. "No way! Stay away from my ramen!" Naruto looked around and saw Hinata laughing. "Hey that's not funny."

Hinata forced herself to stop laughing. "I'm sorry but I had to wake you up for school."

"Aw man. I rather sleep."

"How about I promise to make you some ramen after school?"

"OH BOY RAMEN!" Now Naruto was really awake.

The two walked into school and parted ways for their first period classes.

School went by as usual and soon the final bell rang.

"Finally!" Naruto was walking out with Sasuke, Hinata, and Sai. "I thought the day was never going to end."

"You say that everyday." Sasuke said making Hinata laugh.

Naruto gave him a glare. "Well today its different because Hinata is going to make me some ramen. Right Hinata?"

"That's right. Would you like to join us Sasuke?"

Naruto could feel his excitement draining. He thought it was going to be just the two of them.

"What about me?" Sai asked.

"I would ask you but…."

"Oh Sai!" The group looked over and saw Ino waving at them.

"I think you have plans." Hinata giggled.

Sai waved and went to hang with Ino.

"So Sasuke, what do you say?" Hinata turned to face him. But behind her Naruto was waving his hands, mouthing Sasuke to say no.

Sasuke smirked. "Sure why not."

Naruto fell to the ground.

"Naruto! Are you okay?"

Naruto shot back up. "Yeah. I'm fine. Just tripped." Sasuke scoffed and Naruto gave him another glare. "Shall we?" Naruto went and held the door open.

"Thank you Naruto." Hinata walked through. Sasuke was about to follow but suddenly he was hit in the face by the door.

"Oops. Sorry Sasuke." Naruto apologized but there was fakeness to it.

Sasuke mumbled something and opened the door to follow.

"Are you alright Sasuke?" Hinata went and gently touch his face.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Lets just get going."

The three all drove their own cars to the Hyuga Mansion.

"Come on in and make yourselves at home." But before Hinata could even finish the sentence Naruto was already on the couch making Hinata laugh. "Go ahead Sasuke. I'm going to start on the food."

Sasuke went and sat down next to Naruto.

Once Naruto was sure that Hinata couldn't hear them he faced Sasuke. "Okay, why are you here?"

"Because Hinata invited me."

"Please. You have never come to her house before. Why now?"

Sasuke shrugged. "I was hungry. Why do you care so much anyway?"

"I…I don't."

"Is this supposed to be a date?" Sasuke smirked seeing his friend panic.

"No…no way. Nothing like that. Like I told you before. Hinata and I are JUST friends."

Neither of the boys realized that Hinata was about to walk in to ask if they wanted something to drink when she overheard their conversation.

"_JUST friends."_

Those two words were a crushing blow. Hinata had tried so hard to get Naruto's attention. She gave herself a brand new makeover just to get his attention and it was pointless. Hinata felt like breaking into tears right then and there but she knew she couldn't. But she still needed a little time to get herself back together before facing them so she turned back to finish up cooking.

"Than why are you being such an idiot?"

"I don't know. It's just ever since school has started Hinata has this weird affect on me and I don't know what it is."

"You are truly an idiot." Sasuke mumbled.

"Hey guys, the food is ready." Hinata called from the kitchen.

Naruto instantly jumped up and ran to the kitchen. Sasuke simply walked.

As Sasuke walked down the hall he thought about his outgoing friend. Sasuke had never been one to go out of his way to help someone but he owed Naruto. So with a heavy sigh Sasuke decided he would help his friend out.


	19. Hope

**Warning: Slight time-skip**

In no time at all school seemed to blend into one day. And soon the Homecoming was near.

As Hinata walked down the hallway with her friends, she couldn't help but notice all the posters. Some were about buying tickets but most were nomination posters for the Homecoming Court. And the one that seemed to be around every corner was Sakura's. But that did not surprise Hinata. The more time that she spent with Sakura the more she realized that she really wanted the title. The idea of becoming Homecoming Queen was something that Hinata did not understand. It was just a silly title that would only last a day and than everyone forgot about it.

But Hinata knew how badly Sakura wanted it and she knew that she would do anything to get it. So she decided to keep her opinion to herself.

Over the past couple of weeks Hinata had spent some time with Ino and Sakura and got to know them better. Ino was fun loving and out going. She had a great sense of humor and she was a little boy crazy. Hinata could really see herself becoming good friends with Ino.

Sakura was a different case. Hinata just wasn't sure about her. There were moments when she thought they could be friends. But then there was moments when Sakura would give her such a glare that it sent chills down Hinata's spine. There was one thing that Hinata knew for sure, and that was that Sakura was in love with Sasuke as much as she was in love with Naruto. And it seemed like they were in a similar position where the one they loved didn't show the same feelings back. Of course Sakura was much more obvious with her feelings then Hinata ever was. She just got the cold shoulder from Sasuke all the time.

Hinata figured those evil glares were because she had somehow become close friends with Sasuke. Its not like Hinata went out of her way to become friends with the most popular boy in school. It just sort of happened. He didn't have much to say but that never bothered Hinata. She was never much of a talker either. They had been spending a lot of time together with practice and their classes together.

At the moment Hinata was sitting in the beginning art class, the last period of the day. The class was working on their artworks giving Hinata some time to work on her own painting.

It was the same exact painting that she had been working on since the beginning of the school year. It was turning out to be her best work yet but there was a problem. There was something missing. She didn't know what exactly but something was defiantly missing. She had asked both Sai and Kurenai but neither of them knew what it was.

"Hey Hinata."

Hinata jolted being broken from her trance. She looked up and saw Naruto smiling at her from across the table. "Oh hi Naruto. Do you need help with something?"

"No. I'm almost done. Just wanted to come over and see what you are up to. You seemed really serious."

"Oh well its because I'm having trouble with my painting."

"Is this the one that you have been working on for the past couple of months." Hinata nodded. "Can I see it?"

"I…I don't know."

"Aw come on Hinata." Naruto begged.

"It's not done yet. I still have a lot to work on and…"

"Please Hinata. Maybe I can help."

Seeing Naruto beg was to much for her. He looked to adorable and maybe he really could tell her what it was missing. "Alright but just a quick look."

Naruto walked over until he was standing behind Hinata's chair. She moved out of the way to reveal to Naruto the most amazing painting he had ever seen.

There wasn't a lot of action in the painting. It was a close up of a tree with a rope swing attached. On the swing with their head hung down so the viewer couldn't see their face was a small little boy. Everything was painted except the boy. He was still a pencil drawing.

"Aren't you going to color the boy?"

"I will once I figure out what's wrong with the painting."

Naruto bent down to get a closer look. "I do agree something doesn't seem right."

Hinata tried to not notice how close Naruto's face was to hers. "I k-know. Something is missing and I just can't figure out what."

As Naruto looked at the painting he saw how Hinata used brushstrokes and shadows to invoke a feeling of loneliness to the viewer. Naruto knew that feeling rather well. Before Hinata he always felt lonely, but when Hinata came he felt something else. "It needs hope."

"What?"

"The painting is doing a great job of showing the little guy's loneliness but there should be something to add cheer and happiness. Some hope to help him out."

Hinata looked at the painting. Naruto was right. It had nothing that showed happiness. Nothing to give him hope. And now that she knew what was wrong she had the perfect solution.

"Oh thank you Naruto!" Hinata stood up and gave Naruto a huge hug. "This has been bothering me forever."

Naruto was a little surprised by the hug but loved it none the less and hugged her back.

"Sure no problem. Glad to help."

"Naruto could I see you for a second?"

Naruto and Hinata broke up their hug. "Sure thing Mrs.K."

When he was in front of her desk she motioned him to lean in closer. "Everything is going smoothly with Hinata's art gallery. All we need is her paintings." Kurenai whispered.

"Awesome. I'll figure a way to get them out of her house without her noticing."

"Good. I'm proud of what you are doing for Hinata. You are a good friend."

"Thanks Mrs.K. She has done a lot for me. I just want to do something for her for once."

Kurenai nodded. "Alright. Now go ahead and start cleaning up. School is ending in a few minutes."

Naruto was at the sink cleaning his brushes when Hinata came over.

"So are you ready for your first soccer game as first string goalie?"

Hinata shook her head. "N-no. I'm really nervous, What if I fail?"

"You won't fail. You have been doing great at practice and working with Sasuke. He tells me that you are improving rather quickly."

"Really! He said that?"

Naruto wouldn't admit it but he didn't like how excited Hinata got about the praise from Sasuke. "Yep. Now just remember that you need to keep calm and focus on the ball and nothing else."

"Focus on the ball…got it."

Soon the bell rang and it was the end of another school day.


	20. The Game

**Warning: Sasuke will be OOC**

The bleachers were packed with people and they all cheered as their Konoha Kyuubis came onto the field. But Hinata tried not to notice them. She kept her face focused ahead of her. To nervous to do anything else.

It wasn't her first game but it was her first game actually playing. Before she would sit on the bench praying that the current goalie didn't get hurt for her to go in. But now Coach Gai thought she was ready to take on the goal.

The team they were going up against today was the Suna Shakakus. Naruto told her that they weren't the best with offense but their defense was near perfect. This was somewhat a relief for Hinata because it meant less chance of them getting a goal.

"You ready Hinata?" Naruto asked.

Hinata just nodded.

"Its okay to be nervous. You just can't let it stop you. You have to push through it. Now come on. We have a game to win."

Hinata took one more deep breath before running onto the field and to the goal. Because she was goalie she wore a different color from the rest of the team. Today she had on hot pink with the Konoha symbol on her back. The others had on red.

The referee blew the whistle and the game began.

Suna got the ball first which sent a strike of fear through Hinata. But then Lee came in a stole the ball and Hinata let out a sigh of relief. Lee passed the ball to Naruto who quickly sent it to Sasuke. He went for an opening on the goalie, who was a pale guy with short red hair, but he easily blocked it.

Hinata was impressed. She had personally gone against Sasuke's kicks and they were not easy to block. Naruto was right about their defense being good.

The goalie sent the ball to his teammates and they ran towards Konoha's side. Hinata took a nervous gulp. They were so quick her back up didn't have time to come to her rescue. It was now up to her.

Trying to keep calm Hinata kept her eyes on the ball. Everything else disappeared and it was only her and her opponent.

They got closer and closer. They went to the right then to the left. It looked like he was going to shot for the left corner of the goal but Hinata's keen eyes caught the slight hesitation in his foot. That hesitation told her all she needed to know. The boy shot the ball and Hinata instinctively followed it to the right. When Hinata felt the ball in between her hands it felt like an all time high. She couldn't believe that she actually caught it. She had caught her first goal.

She could hear the people cheering. A huge grin came onto her face but she couldn't savor the moment for long. She quickly threw the ball towards one of the players and they all headed for Suna's side. Naruto lagged behind and gave Hinata a thumbs up before going to steal the ball from a boy who had weird purple markings on his face.

Naruto and Sasuke tried their best to get a goal but like Naruto had said their defense was near perfect and none of them could get the ball in. Hinata was watching the other goalie closely. She noticed that he was very calm almost without emotion. He was quick in his movements without much hesitation. But there was one small imperfection that Hinata caught onto. She needed to let the guys know if they wanted to win. She looked over at the timer and saw there was only a minute before the end of the first half. Soon came the buzzer and the players stopped and headed to their benches for a break.

Hinata grabbed a water and went and sat down for a breather. She had only one ball shot at her but it was still scary and took a lot out of her.

She felt a pat on her back.

"Way to go Hinata!" Naruto sat next to her and gulped down his water.

"Thank you. You are doing good."

Naruto wiped the water away. "No way. I'm doing awful. We just can't seem to get past Gaara's defense. I don't know how he does it. Its like he was a wall of sand blocking our way."

"I see. Actually I wanted to talk to you about that. I have been watching him and I noticed that he has a hesitation when he turns around. I think his weakest point is the back of his legs. Maybe if you go around to the right with the ball, keeping the attention on you, then sending it to Sasuke to shoot it behind him you might get lucky."

"You got all that from watching him."

Hinata nodded. "It's just an idea. You don't have to do it if you don't want to."

"Nah. I want to try it. We have nothing else to go on. Why don't you tell Sasuke. Here he comes now."

Hinata looked over and saw Sasuke. Even with them running back and forth on the field he looked cool and collected. It looked like he had something hiding behind his back.

"Hey Sasuke, Hinata wants to talk to you!" Naruto called out.

"Good because I wanted to talk to her as well." Sasuke looked down at Hinata who was now in front of him.

Hinata was about to ask what when she heard a loud "AWWWWW" coming from the crowd. She looked and saw them pointing to the scoreboard. She followed their pointing and was shocked by what she saw.

**HINATA HYUGA,**

**WILL YOU GO TO HOMECOMING WITH ME?**

**LOVE SASUKE**

Hinata felt like dying right then and there, but it got worse. She turned and saw Sasuke holding out flowers for her.

She didn't know what to do. She liked Sasuke but just as a friend. Naruto was really the one she loved. She glanced over at him and he seemed to have the same look of shock on his face.

"Well?"

Hinata wasn't sure what to say. No one had asked her yet but she was hoping Naruto would. But they had been friends for years and he had never asked her. But there was also Sakura. Hinata was worried that she might hurt her. Then she heard the crowd chanting. "SAY YES! SAY YES!"

"S-sure." Hinata took the flowers and the crowd cheered. Hinata stood up and gave Sasuke a hug while Naruto stood there still in absolute shock. He finally broke out of his trance and looked up and saw Sasuke smirking while he hugged Hinata. Naruto wanted to punch him square in the face.

They didn't see it but in the crowd a pair of teal eyes were sending daggers to the girl with the indigo hair and lavender eyes.

Soon the buzzer came signaling the end of halftime and the teams went back to the field.

Hinata set down the flowers and went to her spot at the goal. She looked over at her team and was upset by what she saw. Sasuke was walking onto the field like nothing had happened and Naruto was stomping behind him totally upset and totally not focused. Hinata didn't know what to do. For a moment she was happy that Naruto seemed so upset by Sasuke asking her out but that moment soon past when the buzzer came to start the game. Those two were the co-captains and if they weren't doing their best then nobody else would. She had to find a way to get their minds back on the game.

Because the guys were so distracted Suna easily stole the ball and was running straight at Hinata. She wasn't sure how to get everyone's attention back but she could think about that later. Right now she had a game to think about. Hinata followed the ball and when the player got closer enough he kicked the ball with all his might. Hinata was on the left side and he kicked it to the right. Hinata jumped through the air to block the ball. She felt the ball graze her fingers but she wasn't close enough to stop it. As she hit the ground she could hear the ball hitting the net.

The buzzer went off signaling a goal. Suna started to cheer. Hinata didn't move for a moment, to upset to move. She couldn't believe that she had let it slip. She was all worried about the others not being able to play and here she was letting the ball slip through. Slowly she got on her knees and when she tried to stand up but her face winced in pain and she fell back to the ground.

She felt a sharp pain in her ankle and couldn't stand up.

Naruto was so pissed about Sasuke asking Hinata out he did not notice Suna taking the ball and going all the way down the field. It was the buzzer that broke his trance.

"Did we make a goal?" Naruto asked.

"No you dobe, Suna did." Sasuke huffed.

"What? No way. Hinata is to good to…" But Naruto stopped mid sentence when he looked over at Hinata and saw her on the ground in pain holding her ankle. Without even thinking he ran over to her.

"Hinata are you alright?"

Hinata looked up and the blonde and smiled. "Y-yeah I'm fine." Hinata tried to get up but once she put weight on her left ankle she almost fell but Naruto was there to hold her up. "M-maybe not. I must have done something to my ankle."

"Here. I'll take you over to the bench."

Hinata was about to put her arm around him and hobble back but she let out a small eep in surprise when she felt her legs getting lifted off the ground. Naruto was carrying her back bridal style. She gave him a look of confusion.

"This way you don't chance of putting weight on the ankle." Naruto grinned.

Hinata instantly blushed. When Naruto put Hinata down on the bench she was swarmed by the guys.

Sasuke and Lee had come off the field to check on her. Also Kiba and Shino had come from the bleachers to make sure she was okay.

Sakura was watching the whole thing from the bleachers. It angered her to no end to see so many of the guys swarming around Hinata. "Ugh, what a little…"

"Sakura!" Ino interrupted. "I don't think its like that. Hinata looks like she's really hurt."

"Hmph. Whatever."

"Hinata, what's the matter?" Naruto frantically asked. "Do you need to go to the hospital?"

"I don't think so. I think its just sprained."

"Hinata's hurt! We're ruined!" Lee was running back and forth freaking out.

"Calm down Lee. We are not ruined. We are just behind by one point." Sasuke tried to calm down the energetic Gai look a-like. Sasuke bent down to be the same eye level as Hinata and gently grabbed her leg making Hinata blush and Naruto furious. "Does this hurt?" Sasuke put pressure on her ankle.

Hinata winced in pain. "Y-yes."

"I think you just need some ice and keep weight off of it for a day or two." Sasuke stood up.

"Thank you Sasuke."

"Sure thing," Sasuke looked at the rest of the team. "Now let's get back out there." Sasuke and the other guys ran off to the field but Naruto stayed behind.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Naruto asked.

Hinata nodded. "I'm fine but go out there and kick some butt for me."

Naruto grinned. "You got it."

And Naruto did just that. He and the rest of the team seem to have even more energy then the start of the game. They all wanted to win but now they had Hinata to play for. It meant a lot to her to know that they valued her as a member of the team. And Naruto told Sasuke about Hinata's idea. And they went with her plan of distracting Suna's goalie and going in behind him for the goal. The final score ended up being 3-2.

Konoha cheered in victory.

After shaking hands with the Suna players, the players and friends all agreed to a celebratory visit to Ichiraku's.

"We don't have to go if you don't want to Hinata." Naruto mentioned.

"It's okay. You go. I'll just go home."

"No way. There's no point in going then. Its not fun if you're not there." Hinata blushed at Naruto's comment. "How about I take you home and we can watch a movie or something?"

"S-sure. That sounds nice." Coach Gai had wrapped her ankle and given her ice and crutches. Hinata was going to stand up but once again let out an eep as she felt herself being lifted into the air. "W-what are you doing Naruto?"

Naruto was once again holding Hinata bridal style. "I don't think its safe for you to use those crutches, plus I like holding you like this." A comment that made both of them blush.

**So what did you think? Again sorry about Sasuke's OOCness but it was needed for the rest of the story. And if you didn't catch it, the school's mascots are the tailed beast. I thought it was clever, hehe.**

**The next chapter is going to have a lot of NaruHina in it (YAY) so stay tune. **


	21. Sleepover

**FINALLY naruhina moments. Thanks to everyone for bearing with me for so long. I can't believe its taken me so long. Hopefully this is the turning point and there will be a lot more moments like this.**

**ENJOY**

Naruto took Hinata back to her house and made sure her feet never touched the ground. He even carried her to her room and gently placed her on her bed. Scared that he might break her.

Naruto stood back and realized that Hinata was still in her soccer uniform and so was he. "Uh, do you….a….need help….um….changing?" Naruto's face turned beet red which matched perfectly with Hinata's.

"N-no. I t-think I can manage."

"Okay great. Well I'll go back downstairs and change myself. When you are ready you can call me and I can carry you back down."

Before Hinata could argue Naruto was already out the door. With a giggle Hinata hopped over to her closet and grabbed a simple pair of shorts and a tshirt. Instead of calling Naruto, Hinata slowly made her way down the stairs. She had only a few steps from the floor as she hopped down the next step with a loud thud making Naruto look up from the DVDs. Seeing it was Hinata Naruto jumped up and ran over to her.

"What are you doing? I told you to call me."

"I'm fine. I can do it myself." Hinata tried to show him but just as she moved to the next step she slipped. Hinata had shut her eyes expecting to fall but when she didn't she opened her eyes and saw two blue ones staring at her. Naruto had caught her and had his arms wrapped protectively around her waist.

"You were saying?" Naruto grinned.

Hinata blushed. "T-thank you."

Naruto helped her back up and carried her over to the couch. He then went back over to the movies. "So what do you want to watch?"

"It doesn't matter to me."

Naruto looked through the selection and grabbed on and put it into the player. He then went to sit right next to Hinata.

"Do you want something to eat?"

"Aw nah I'm fine." But just as Naruto said that his stomach decided to protest, loudly.

Hinata giggled. "How about I order us pizza?"

"That sounds good." Naruto had to hide his blush.

Hinata had finished ordering the pizza when the main title screen came up.

**Paranormal Activity**

Hinata suddenly became very nervous. She was not the biggest fan of scary movies.

Naruto looked over and saw the nervous look on Hinata's face. "Hey are you okay?"

Hinata nodded. "Y-yes."

Naruto let out a chuckle and put his arm around her. "Don't worry. I'll take care of you."

The two continued to watch the movie. Hinata getting closer and clinging onto Naruto more with every ghostly movement.

The two were so engrossed in the movie that when there was a knock at the door they jolted.

"T-that must be the pizza." Hinata was about to get up when she remembered her leg. "Um, could you get that?"

"What? Oh yeah of course." Naruto paid the guy and put the pizza on the coffee table. "I'll grab us some drinks."

They finished their dinner and the movie. Hinata only being scared a little bit.

Naruto looked over at the clock. "Oh wow. Is it really that late? I better get going." Naruto was getting up to leave but he felt Hinata grab hold of his hand.

Hinata had a light blush on her cheeks. "C-could you s-stay with me for a little while longer? I'm still a little scared."

Naruto had a huge grin on his face. "Sure thing Hinata. How about we watch another movie to calm you down?" Naruto went and grabbed what he knew was one of Hinata's favorites.

**Beauty and the Beast**

When the title came on the screen a smile came onto Hinata's face. "My favorite."

"Haha I know. That's why I picked it. I still don't understand why you like this story so much." Naruto went and sat back down next to Hinata.

"Because its such a great story. While everyone else sees a monster, a beast. Belle is able to see past it and see him for what he truly is, a prince."

"Hmph if you say so. I doubt anything like that would happen in real life."

"I don't know, but it gives my inspiration to remember that not everyone is what they seem, that you need to look beyond the outer shell."

"That's why I love you Hinata. You always want to see the best in people."

Hinata blushed. "_Did Naruto just say he loved me?" _But Hinata just shook it off as friendly.

The two sat close to each other as they watch the movie and before the credits could even come on the screen both were cuddled together on the couch fast asleep.

Later that night the door slowly opened as two people entered one giggling and the other one simply smiling. But that smile quickly disappeared when he saw the scene on the couch.

"What is it Neji?" Ten-ten pushed him out of the way so she could come in and what she saw made her smile.

Naruto and Hinata were both cuddling and asleep on the couch.

"What is the meaning of this?"

"Oh calm down. They must have fallen asleep while watching a movie or something. Its no big deal."

"Yes it is a big deal. Hinata is to good for him."

Ten-ten put her hands on her hips and gave Neji a look. "If Hinata thinks he's good enough then I believe her. Now calm down and go to sleep. I'll see you tomorrow." Ten-ten kissed Neji on the cheek. "Oh and if I hear anything about you ruining their night…" Ten-ten allowed Neji's imagination fill in the rest. "Night." With that she quickly left.

Neji sighed. He knew that Ten-ten would follow through with her threat and she would make sure to ask Hinata if he did anything. So reluctantly Neji walked over and placed a blanket around to two, not wanting Hinata to catch a cold, he then went upstairs and to his room.

Late that night Naruto started to stir, trying to get closer to whatever was giving him warmth. He lifted his eyelids slowly and was he saw surprised him. Peacefully sleeping next to him was no other then his best friend, Hinata. They were cuddled up on the couch with a blanket wrapped around them. Naruto didn't know if he should be happy or in a total panic.

Sure he and Hinata had sleepovers before but that was when they were little. Now they were practically adults and sleeping together was a totally different scenario. Naruto debated silently getting up and leaving when he felt movement and saw Hinata snuggling up closer to him.

Naruto couldn't help but smile as he looked down at Hinata.

"_She looks so peaceful when she sleeps, like an angel. Maybe I can stay a little longer. I wouldn't want to wake up Hinata anyways."_

Naruto once again got comfortable and snuggled up to Hinata and soon fell back to sleep with a gentle smile on his face.

**SO SO SO SORRY I haven't updated in a long time. Just been caught up with other stuff. I really want to finish this story and my other NaruHina story, Coming Full Circle, because I already have a list of stories that I want to work on. Hopefully I'll keep up with this sooner rather then later. But don't ever worry about this story or any of my others being abandoned. That's never gonna happen. **


	22. Monday

Hinata woke up with a smile on her face. She didn't know why but she had slept better then usual, which she found hard to believe since she hurt her ankle and slept on the couch.

"Mmmm….ramen…."

Hinata jolted a little when she heard Naruto's voice. That's when she noticed arms around her waist and when she turned her head she came face to face with a sleeping Naruto. That's when last night came back to her.

"We must have fallen asleep watching the movie." Hinata concluded. And then Hinata's face instantly went red when she realized that she had slept with Naruto. If her father was home and not on a business trip, she knows that he would be furious. And what about Neji? Had he seen Naruto and her like this?

To be honest with herself though, Hinata wasn't that worried. She was actually happy. Her and Naruto were good friends and she hoped that this little incident would help them move forward to something more then friends. But Hinata knew that this little moment needed to end soon. So doing her best to get out of Naruto's arms, and making sure not to hit her foot, Hinata got off the couch and hobbled to the bathroom.

When she came out she noticed that couch was unoccupied.

"N-Naruto?"

"In the kitchen." Naruto called out. Naruto watched as Hinata walked into the kitchen, hobbling a little less then the day before. "How's your ankle?"

"It's better. Another day or two and I should be back to normal." Hinata took a seat at the counter.

"That's good. We need to get you back to the goal."  
>Hinata looked down. "I don't know about that. I let everyone down."<p>

"What are you talking about? You did great. It was your first game, you shouldn't be so hard on yourself."

"Thank you. So what are you doing?" Hinata sniffed the air. "Is that cinnamon I smell?"

Naruto rubbed the back of his head. "Yeah. Sorry for raiding your fridge but I figured some cinnamon buns would make you feel better."

At the mention of her favorite treat, Hinata instantly perked up. Naruto noticed it and laughed. "I'll take that as a yes."

Once the rolls were done, Naruto slathered some icing on them and put them in front of Hinata. He then grabbed to glasses of milk and sat down next to her.

Hinata instantly grabbed for one and quickly bit into it. She savored the tangy taste of the cinnamon blending with the sweetness of the icing.

"So….Hinata…."

"Hmm?"

"About Sasuke…"

That's when the sweetness turned to dust in her mouth. At the mention of that one name, the other part of the game came into Hinata's head. She had totally forgotten about what Sasuke had done. How he had asked her to the Homecoming Dance in front of everyone and how she had accepted.

"Y-yes. What about him?"

"Do you really want to go with him to the homecoming dance?"

The pastries totally forgotten Hinata looked at Naruto. "W-what do you mean?

Naruto rubbed the back of his head. "I mean, out of all the guys at Konoha High, is Sasuke the one you want to be with?" Naruto wasn't so sure why he was asking Hinata. It only made sense that she would be interested in Sasuke. All the girls at school adored him, why would Hinata be any different. Sasuke was also his best guyfriend and Hinata his best girlfriend. He should be excited about them possibly being together, but he wasn't….at all.

Hinata wasn't sure how to answer the question. She wanted to be honest but that meant telling Naruto about her feelings for him and she wasn't ready for that. But she also didn't want Naruto to think that she had those kind of feelings for Sasuke. Sure he was good looking, no girl could deny that, but he just wasn't the kind of guy that Hinata was into. "I-I'm not sure. I mean, he seems like a decent guy. A l-little d-dark but h-he's the only guy that has ever asked me out…"

"Oh. You mean no one has asked you out before."

Hinata shook her head. "No. W-why would they? Before this makeover, no guy gave me any attention."

"Hinata…."

"It's okay Naruto. I've changed my look for the better. And if Sasuke is the only one willing to give me a chance then its only right for me to give him a chance too." Hinata gave Naruto a weak smile that both knew was fake.

"If you say so Hinata." Naruto stood up. "I better get going, but if he gives you any trouble you let me know." Hinata nodded and watched Naruto head for the door. "And one more thing, you're great to matter what you look like Hinata. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise."

And with that Naruto walked out the door.

Hinata sat there for a moment. She didn't know why she said the things that she said. In truth she wanted Naruto to ask her to Homecoming. She wanted him to ask her out in general. That's the main reason that she did what she did about her looks. It was her last ditch effort to get him to notice her, but it was obviously not working. Naruto had still not made a move on her and she was starting to loose hope. And she wasn't lying. Sasuke was really the first guy to ask her out and it was only fair for her to give him a chance like he was giving her.

Hinata looked over at the sweet doughy pastries that were usually her favorite treat but at the moment they only made her stomach turn. Leaving them on the counter for Hanabi and Neji, Hinata hobbled upstairs to her room. When she was feeling like this the only thing she wanted to do was paint. So that's what she did. Hinata stayed in her room all weekend and painted and by the time that Monday came around her ankle was all better.

As Hinata walked down the halls of Konoha High on Monday she couldn't help but notice the glares she was getting. At first she thought it was because of her mess up and the soccer game but then she noticed that all the glares were coming strictly from the girls. She couldn't understand why they would all be mad at her but as she turned the corner to her locker she figured out why.

"S-Sasuke."

The Uchiha was leaning against Hinata's locker, obviously waiting for her.

"I-is there something you need?"

Sasuke shrugged. "How's your ankle?"

Hinata was a little shocked by Sasuke's question. He actually sounded concerned. "It's fine. Thank you."

"Good. We can get back to practicing then. It's obvious that you still need practice and the next game is coming up. Wait for me after art class."

Hinata wasn't sure how to answer. It sounded more like a command then a question so Hinata merely nodded.

"Good." And with that Sasuke walked away.

""Ugh, he can be such a loser sometimes."

Hinata turned around and saw Neji's girlfriend and one of her closest girlfriends walk up. "Hi Ten-ten."

"Hey there Hinata. How are you?"

"I'm alright."

"I heard about the game. Is your ankle alright?"

"Yes. It's much better."

"I'm sure Naruto made it all better." Ten-ten gave her a teasing wink which made the Hyuga blush making Ten-ten laugh. "Now tell me, how is it that you like, you know who, and yet you are going to Homecoming with the grumpy Uchiha?"

"H-how do you know about that?"

"Are you kidding? That's the number one thing being talked about right now. It's all over school and let me tell you that there are a lot of girls that are pretty mad at you right now, especially a certain pinkette."

"Not Sakura." Now Hinata was really scared. Being on the pinkette's bad side was never a good thing.

Ten-ten nodded. "But don't worry. She probably won't do anything about it. She had plenty of guys asking her to the dance. Lee just did this morning."

"And how did that go?"  
>"He got punched in the face." Ten-ten shook her head. "He will never learn. He keeps saying he likes her youthful spirit."<p>

Hinata couldn't help but giggle. Lee will always be Lee.

Just then the bell rang.

"See you later Hinata." Ten-ten waved goodbye and headed for her class and Hinata did the same.

School went on as usual except for a little more evil glares from the girls, but by the end of the day, Hinata was use to it. And then finally the final bell rang and the kids left.

Like Sasuke had told Hinata, she waited for him.

"Ready?" Sasuke asked.

Hinata nodded.

"Where are you two going?" Naruto, who was also still in the room, asked.

"Soccer practice."

"Are you sure you're up to it Hinata?" Naruto looked at her, concerned.

"I should be fine and I'll take it easy." Hinata looked and saw Sasuke already walking out the door. "Bye Naruto." She ran to catch up with Sasuke.

"Now that they are gone, we can finally talk." Kurenai motioned Naruto to come to her desk.


End file.
